Technical Tips Climbing Magazine[1]

Tech Tip Trad - Soft-Man Link-Up By Kolin Powick llustrations by Mike Tea El Cap is BIG and Half Dome is WAY over there... Photos by Andrew Chasteen / andrewchasteen.com

Half Dome and El Cap in a day . . . for mortals In 2002, Dean Potter linked the Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.12) on Half Dome and El Cap‟s Freerider (VI 5.12d/13a), climbing 57 pitches in sub-24 hours. In 2008, Leo Houlding and Sean Leary did the same, team free. Both were heroic feats of masterclass endurance by worldclass climbers. Thus, according to conventional wisdom, a Half Dome/El Cap free link-up remains beyond the means of all but the hardest hardmen — or does it? On the last night of a 2007 Yosemite trip, four of us working stiffs sat around Camp 4. As the beers flowed, we conjured a Potter-esque feat for the everyday climber. The “Soft-Man Link-Up,” we decided, would encompass Half Dome and El Cap, all free in a day. Respectively, the routes would be Snake Dike (III 5.7 R) and the East Buttress (III 5.10b): 21 pitches up to 5.10b, 18 miles of hiking, and more than 7,000 feet of vertical gain. (In camp, the Valley locals and YOSAR guys said, “There‟s nothing soft about the Soft Man — that‟s a ton of hiking!”) The next day, we crushed in 16 hours, going pitch by pitch (no simul-climbing), proving it could be done . . . and safely. Here‟s how to prep, organize, and send, whether you‟re going for this specific Soft Man or likewise envisioning one of your own.

Training The Soft Man is more about constant motion and rock sense than peak ability, so you‟ll want to develop physical and mental fitness. I‟d recommend two to three months of training before you go for it. Some pointers: Cardio Fitness: Trail running, StairMaster, and hill hiking with a pack are good juju. And while 30-to-45minute lunchtime runs will help, too, I‟d also include after-work uphill hikes, with a goal of cranking for at

least three hours (the approach time to Snake Dike) . . . sans fatigue. Climbing Fitness: Snake Dike, a classic granite slab, offers few holds and fewer points of protection — you want to be comfortable way runout on this terrain, so you can move quickly. The betterprotected East Buttress, meanwhile, has a few 5.10 pitches (the rest are a number grade or two easier), with the climbing steeper and more physical than Snake Dike‟s. Here, be ready to plug pro rapidly and keep upward momentum. Along those lines, the key for both climbs is training vertical mileage, to be able to move quickly and comfortably on easier ground. I recommend mucho slab-to-vert lappage at your local crag and/or fivehour, 40-plus-pitch gym sessions, running four-pitch “blocks” of 5.10 and under.

Kit and Caboodle Prepare your gear kit and car buffet the night before. We brought: Snake Dike Kit: Per person — one climbing pack, a swami (harness sans leg loops), comfy rock shoes, approach shoes, belay device, 80 to 100oz of electrolyte drink, and energy bars or gel. Per team — five quickdraws, four locking biners, two cams (a No. 0.5 and a No. 0.75 Camalot), and a skinny 60m cord. East Buttress Kit: Per person — a harness, comfy rock shoes, approach shoes, helmet, belay device, 80oz of fluids, Snickers bar, energy gel, cheese, and a headlamp. Per team — one climbing pack, shoulder slings with single biners, six quickdraws, a set of TCUs, double set of cams (No. 0.4 through No. 3 Camalots), one No. 4 Camalot (optional), Stoppers (every second size), and a 60m, 9.7mm rope. Car Buffet: Deli sandwiches, chips, energy drinks, and a gallon of water per ropeteam. We silo‟ed as much food as we could during the 10-minute drive to the Zodiac (southeast face) pullout for El Cap.

Realization As with any big Yosemite link-up, start early, both to beat the Sierra heat on the approach and later outrace darkness. We did the Soft Man in late May, with about 16 hours of daylight. Snake Dike: Start hiking at 3:30 a.m. from Happy Isles, aiming to link into the John Muir Trail by 4 a.m. First up is the six-mile, 2,500-vertical-foot-gain approach to Snake Dike — shoot for subthree hours. The eight amazing slab pitches up a salmon-colored dike, to the end of the fifth-class climbing, should take sub-two hours. Switch to approach shoes for 30 minutes of calf-burning

slab, topping out by 9:30 a.m. Descend via the Cables, and then bang out 7.5 knee-jarring miles (subthree hours, ideally) down the Mist Trail to the car. East Buttress: We took a quick dip in the Merced before heading to El Capitan, a roughly one-hour approach to the East Buttress. With luck, you‟ll be climbing by 2 p.m. Five hours later, high-five your partner up top, and then hightail it to the East Ledges rappels/trail. It should be an hour back to the car, leaving plenty of time to hit the Pizza Deck. Congratulations: you‟ve joined the Soft-Man Club! Kolin Powick, director of global quality at Black Diamond Equipment, once was a proud Canadian rock climber (and soft man full of aspirations). Now, he says, his chronically injured shoulder keeps him climbing sub-5.11. Canada weeps for him.

Tech Tip - Sport - Kiddy Craggin' By Heidi Ahrens and Trina Ortega Illustration by Mike Tea

10 cliffside-survival tips for climbing families. If you‟re a new (or SOON -TO-BE) parent, it‟s not unreasonable to fear that kids might crimp your climbing style. Still, it is possible to keep cranking as a mom or pop — even to turn climbing into an engaging family affair. We‟ve learned from experience that bringing kids (from ages 2 on up) climbing can actually up your psyche — they offer fresh perspective, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Heck, you might even inspire your child to become a vertical disciple. For this Tech Tip, we took our inspiration from stories posted at outdoorbaby.net, many shared by climber parents who‟ve devised ways to make family days at the crag a positive experience. We also talked to other parents and added a few tips of our own.

1. Fun It Up The day is about family, not “sending” goals. Thus, priority No. 1 should be simply having fun — taking your kids outside and hanging at the rock, even if everyone simply plays in the dirt or scrambles. Having fun also means preparation: pack seasonappropriate clothes and bring a cooler of healthy snacks to keep the grumpies at bay, allowing you to stay later and maximize precious climbing time.

2. Start Small Kids are natural scramblers, so introduce them to climbing via short, slabby boulder problems — not routes — with mellow grades, incut jugs and edges, and short reaches. Let junior back off if he wants to, as well. Added bonus: bouldering requires minimal gear, and crashpads can double as primo sleep/play/diaper-changing areas during down time.

3. The Two Hs: Harnesses and Helmets For small children (ages 3 to 6) eager to try roped climbing, a full-body harness is the only way to go (to prevent upside-down flippage during falls). Also available are smaller sit harnesses for kids 7 or older (though weight and hip development are better indicators than age). Of course, make sure kids wear helmets at all times. As an example, parents should don brain buckets, too.

4. Pick Kid-Friendly Crags

You look for kid-friendly restaurants and cafés — a crag should be no different. A one-mile hike up talus to a narrow belay ledge presents obvious drawbacks for you and your children; likewise with new or chossy areas. Ultimately, if you find it too overwhelming to deal with unpredictable Mother Nature, start in a gym.

5. Travel in Groups Invite other climber families with similarly aged children to the cliffs — positive peer pressure helps kids try new things. Also, when you‟re on the rock, the kids can entertain each other while one parent keeps watch, with each parent rotating through sitter duty. Another way to pull some moves without leaving junior unattended: invite a babysitter, grandparent, or friend who loves the outdoors (and kids) to join you.

6. En Route Readiness If you rope up, carry a sling and belay device (or know how to rap using a locker and Münter hitch), so you can go in direct and/or rap quickly in the event your belayer faces some unforeseen kid-caused crisis.

7. Entertain the Kiddos Bring a few on-the-ground activities — board games, books, pens and paper — to keep the kids distracted, thereby upping your rock time. One sly mother told me she often packed her son‟s “big machines” (toy bulldozers, dump trucks, etc.), to keep him content on outings.

8. Respect Other Climbers For safety‟s (and courtesy‟s) sake, don‟t let your children disrupt other climbers. Dangerous kid behaviors include: screaming (obscures belay commands); throwing things (can injure climbers who thought they were safe back on the ground); crossing under/over in-use ropes (can lead to tangles, dropped climbers, etc.); and running.

9. Cliff Class Nature is the best school, and climbing an excellent teacher. From Day 1, stress the safety basics: gear care and handling, rope use, and proper belay technique and communication. To make the experience hands-on, carry extra slings, biners, and lengths of rope with which your child can practice. Other important topics include: poison ivy, ticks, snakes, mountain lions, when to call 911, staying hydrated, first aid, etc.

10. Prepare to Be Humbled Don‟t fret if your child one day morphs into a lanky teen who out-sends you. Just be glad he took a liking to the sport . . . and that you now have a willing and talented ropegun for life. Heidi Ahrens is the main blogger at outdoorbaby.net. Trina Ortega is a Carbondale, Colorado-based journalist

Tech Tip - Alpine - Stayin' Alive By Dave Sheldon Illustrations by Mike Tea

7 tips to head off an alpine epic at the pass The pitches flew by on Polar Circus, our one-day Canadian Rockies winter objective. So when my partner said he‟d forgotten his headlamp, I didn‟t sweat it. Then, a few hours later, I dropped our shared thermos (bummer). But when my crampon‟s toe bail snapped and a falling rock halved our ropes, our day climb morphed into a grovelfest replete with unplanned bivy. Take bad luck, mix it with a few errors, throw in rough conditions, and — Voila! — you have the muck from which grows many a world-class disaster. Still, there are small, basic steps you can take toward epic avoidance, especially on long alpine routes. Your first line of defense will be intuition: if at any point you feel something ain‟t right, take a few minutes to evaluate. Maybe it‟s just butterflies . . . or maybe it‟s your Spidey Sense clueing you into those heat-seekers the Reaper just let loose. In any case, there‟s no shame in retreat. The next line of defense will be a little thoughtful care, as outlined in these seven simple tips.

1. The Gear List Nothing will forfeit a climb faster than spacing key gear (harness or runners) at camp. But forgetting a seemingly “nonessential” item (headlamp, spare pick, lighter, etc.) might also lead to an epic. To be safe, write up a gear list, checking off each item as you pack, to ensure your goodies are in. Also, always bring a small knife, essential on multi-pitch routes for cutting manky slings out of fixed anchors or slicing the rope should it become damaged by rockfall or stuck in a crack.

2. Preflight Preload Considering how fatigue, gloved fingers, dehydration, and icy ropes can reduce dexterity and concentration, who knows what‟ll come of an attempted figure-8 or bowline tie-in. So make a habit of giving the rope a tug below each freshly tied knot — if it‟s bad, the tug-test will tell you. Also, periodically check your knot on the fly if using new, wet, and/or icy cords.

3. “Fixed” Anchors The daily freeze-thaw cycle on high-altitude routes plays havoc both on fixed pitons and removable placements. In Canada once, I reached a threepiece, fully equalized anchor, grabbed the sling . . . and pulled the system from the rock. In another case, my partner pointed out I‟d built my “textbook” anchor behind a giant, loose pillar. Ergo, when not 100 percent sure of an anchor‟s reliability — be it existing or your own — back it up or seek another option. The best (safest) belays aren‟t always the most

comfortable, either.

4. Back up the Brakes While there are many ways to back up rappels, the best I‟ve seen is a friction hitch, sliding along the rope(s) itself below your brake hand. (Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Skills, by Craig Luebben, is an excellent book for this tip and others like it; order at mountaineersbooks.org.) It takes about five seconds to rig and doesn‟t lessen the rappel “experience.” When rapping in a storm in Cody, Wyoming, my partner lost control of the slippery 9mm ropes. However, with a friction hitch in place, he averted disaster, quickly righting himself and carrying on after the knot checked his slide.

5. Loose-Block Lambada When possible, climb around any death cookie or suspect hold without touching it, and warn your partner. If you must pull on a suspect flake or block, be gentle — never pull out. Placing gear nearby, to route the rope out of the line of fire, is a smart move, too. (You can also relocate the belay.) And remember: spring is a notorious time for once-solid blocks to dislodge as the freeze/thaw loosens them.

6. “That‟s right, Iceman. I am dangerous.” That guy you met at the rock gym seems cool, but still, it‟s not the best idea to break in your partnership on, say, Baffin Island. Instead, start slow, with some local cragging or a weekend trip. Once you‟ve had a few successful (read: non-epic) climbing days, bump up the commitment grade. Remember, you‟re really trying to determine what will happen to your partnership in the face of adversity. Will it bring out the best . . . or the worst?

7. Say What? Speaking of new partners, when you‟re climbing with someone new, take a preflight minute to sort out a communication system. For example, does “Slack!” mean “I want slack,” or “Pull up the extra slack”? (I was once yanked off a traverse by this mix-up.) Same goes for the slippery “Take!” And, finally, what do you do when you can‟t communicate verbally at all, due to wind or terrain? It doesn‟t matter which method you use to telegraph intent, as long as you‟re both speaking the same language. Contributing Editor Dave Sheldon has not suffered an epic in more than five years, leaving him, he says, with not enough to write about. Contributing Editor Dave Sheldon has not suffered an epic in more than five years, leaving him, he says, with not enough to write about.

Tech Tip - Sport - Welcome to the Jungle (Gym) By Krisitn Bjornsen Illustration by Mike Tea

Seven tips for warding off plastic predators YOU FEEL EYES UPON YOU — is that panting you hear? You flee to the bouldering cave . . . but you‟re cornered. Any second, the lone, roving male will pounce, turning your once-pleasant session into a socially awkward morass. To avoid such scenes, you visit the gym at weird hours, but even this doesn‟t always work. However, there are some simple ways to repel the mack-inations of even the most persistent rock Romeos. Before you start, prepare to identify your foe. Five distinct species of male inhabit the rock gym: Skin Monkey (usually shirtless, aggro, and prone to grunting); Smarmot (an unctuous, Pepé Le Pew-like creature who uses pick-up lines like “Nice rack!”); Chigger (doesn‟t take “No” for an answer); the Coach (sprays unsolicited “technique tips” that might make sense); and the bona fide Nice Guy, who wants only to climb and maybe meet someone. While this last type deserves friendly honesty (because, hey, the gym still beats the produce section, the bar, or — heaven forbid — The Sims for meeting people), the former four must be dealt with swiftly and decisively. I recommend the following seven tips. (Note to randy gym d00ds: these pointers will provide insight into how not to meet women.)

1. Evasive Maneuvers With practice, you can learn to spot an incoming predator (you‟ll likely smell the Axe Bodyspray, with nearby climbers scattering). Once alerted, activate your impenetrable “Estro-Shield,” in the form of several female friends, avoiding eye contact with your stalker as you immerse yourself in the group.

2. Dress for (No-Molest) Success Wear actual clothing. That means no whale tail, “Juicy” short-shorts, or sports bras that could double as pasties. Basically, the only visible jugs should be on the wall, and if you dyno, nothing should pop out. I know, I know: women should be able to show off their bodies — this is the age of female empowerment, blah, blah, blah. . . . Ah, right, because when a girl stems while dressed like a Pussycat Doll, that‟s just what guys are thinking: “Wow . . . she‟s so empowered.” [See Sporting Life, Climbing No. 269, p.42, for the Fleshfest Self-Evaluation Scale.]

3. Say Hello to My Little Friend! Climb with a guy friend, especially a burly, angry-looking one — you know, the Tony Montana, protective-older-brother type. “I‟ll often climb with a male friend, which usually keeps the creepy guys away,” says the trad climber LeeAnn Stevens, of Boulder, Colorado. “Although it does keep away the sexy, rugged ones, too.”

4. Authorized Personnel Only Guard your safety zone. One tactic guys use to pierce your personal bubble is the Belay Loop Sneak: Casanova finishes a route using an autobelayer and unclips the carabiner from his harness. But rather than simply handing you the biner, so you can have a turn, he “helpfully” attaches it to your belay loop, his hand coming dangerously close to (even grazing) restricted areas. (Anecdotal evidence reveals that males only do this when the autobelayer awaitee is female.) The Belay Loop Sneak is not acceptable, and you should quickly intercept the carabiner or grabby hand with a swift, karate-chop motion. Same goes for the Chalk Bag Sneak and the ever-cheeky, figure-8-loosening Finger of Forwardness.

5. ShrinkageOutclimb them. This frightens away 98 percent of male suitors. 6. Tell the TruthPatent lies like “I got a man!” “I have SARS,” or ”¡Estoy loca!” will eventually be uncovered. Instead, just be blunt. At Yosemite‟s Camp 4, where the horny-dude vibe is “worse than the gym,” says big-wall climber Lizzy Scully, “I generally just smile nicely at [my would-be suitor], reply to his questions with one-word answers, and then either walk away and find a friend or, as I did in one extreme case, say, „Excuse me, but I‟m trying to climb. Please leave me alone. Thanks.‟”

7. Jock Block Wear headphones, which act as a Do Not Disturb sign. If a roaming predator still attempts eye contact, look anywhere but directly at him (i.e., „What is that fascinating splotch on the ceiling?‟). And, of course, avoid high-risk climbing times, such as student-discount night and “Swingers‟ Sunday.” Climbing Associate Editor (and gym fangirl) Kristin Bjornsen has a black belt in plastic-predator JiuJitsu . . . and she‟s not afraid to use it. For the Guys: Coug-Alert! Fit climber dudes are like catnip to on-the-prowl females of a certain age. Cougar warning signs include: inordinate amounts of brightly colored makeup; rock shoes that match the pants (that match the shirt, which matches the chalk bag . . . ); manicured claws (I mean, nails); and batting-eye requests for Beta or a spot. After the latter, “She inevitably breaks into small talk, and then asks, „So, do you climb outside much?‟ followed by, „You have to take me!‟” says one of our male sources. To make your escape, respond with, “I don‟t have any outside plans right now,” and then back slowly away. (Don‟t run, lest you trigger the cougar‟s hunting instincts.)

Tech Tip - Trad - The Lost Art of Downclimbing By Mic Fairchild Illustration by Mike Tea

Staying balance-neutral (and in control) on the return to Earth Whether it‟s backing down a runout lead, navigating a sketchy descent, or merely exercising the unlikely (I will sometimes climb up and down the same route, just for fun!), the ability to downclimb (DC) is a skill worth polishing, especially for budding trad leaders. This hits with perspective from 100 years ago, when rock climbing meant soloing up, then down, whatever Dolomites objective loomed. I have a leading style that lets me move progressively higher, above rests, with my gear placements: on a difficult pitch, I‟ll lead up, place protection, and then move back down to the rest (I‟d rather reverse moves than take a big rip). I‟ve also learned that being off route can be just as necky as a sick solo — on a sketchy lead, you‟ll need to consider reversibility on each move. Here‟s how: Find Your Center Before you start down, find your physical center by assessing and establishing a Neutral Balance Point (NBP). This will entail getting into a comfortable stem, face position, or jam, with both feet at a similar height, such that gravity isn‟t pulling you to one side. This NBP should offer the opportunity to forge a rest and calm down before you begin DC, and should be established wherever possible along your downclimb. Mental Shift The most effective safety tool in your arsenal is your brain — so engage it with a decided push into DC mentality. First, alert your belayer with the positive “Watch me!”, not “I‟m gonna fall!”; then think about how you got into your predicament. The first move back down is probably fresh in your memory, but take a deep breath and set your mental sights on your destination, as well. Will you have to DC nonstop all the way to the last piece, or is there a workable rest along the way? Finally, visualize every hold in the sequence at hand, making note of the best grips — you‟ll be looking for them.

Technique Standing on your feet is just as important (yet surprisingly easier) on the way down as it is on the way up. Whether it‟s having gravity in your favor or because your weight is shifted with such commitment,

DC makes almost all footholds good. So watch for smears and edges that might have been “too small” on the way up. Leverage, layback, and opposition holds work great for DC, and “lowsteps” (reverse highsteps) are also reliable as you commit to leaning out. Get settled (remember your NBP) before reaching down for your next holds, and then simplify to the point where you‟re smoothly making one hand move, and then one foot move, at a time.

Body Position As you descend, don‟t forget that the lockoff (hands on holds about chin height and elbows in, like a completed chin-up) and lockout (straight, extended arm, with weight borne by bone) positions burn the least muscle power. You‟ll often have to compromise on these ideals, but be aware and minimize time spent in half-cocked arm positions. When leaning out to look for your next holds from an NBP lockoff, consider first lowering to a lockout, to extend visual range. Then return to a lockoff to regroup before continuing. In these transitions, picture yourself going from balanced on your feet and upright, to leaning out, to balanced again.

Practice, Practice Nothing does like doing. If I‟m indoors, I DC every route — great for establishing eye-foot coordination. Sometimes, my perspective becomes myopic, and holds look farther away than they actually are. So I‟m often surprised that foot moves which look like huge steps down are entirely reasonable once I start moving. Worst CaseHaving an attentive belayer will help the DC process. While it‟s necessary for her to bring in rope while you descend, she needs to be additionally aware you might fall. While she can carefully pull in a few armlengths to lessen any lob, I prefer to have her lock the device off if I pitch, to avoid short-roping. As a leader, if you‟re backcleaning on your way down, consider hanging on a piece to recoup physical or mental power. Gear should be considered expendable enough to warrant fashioning an improv anchor, to provide a toprope for your downclimb or even a lower-off. Never backclean below a single piece unless the situation absolutely demands DC off this one-point “anchor”. Mic Fairchild has spent 30 years on the rock — long enough to go from “Gumby” to “Posable Gumby.” He holds the speed records both up (5:33) and down (10:42) Eldorado Springs Canyon‟s Bastille Crack.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Of snowfields and glaciers By Martin Gutmann Illustration By Keith Svihovecç

Safely navigating a whiteout A descent through a whiteout is usually remembered in two ways: over a cold beer with friends or as a bestseller written by the sole survivor. In fact, descending a snowfield or crossing a glacier in a whiteout can be a complete horrorshow: the ground and the air blur into one, leaving you disoriented, and tracks from your ascent quickly become buried in blowing snow. Worse yet, the slightest deviation from your route compounds into a potentially life-threatening situation. However, by carrying the proper equipment, taking the right precautions, and learning some simple tricks, you‟ll find the trailhead long before mom and dad have to call search and rescue.

To Start... Never leave for the summit without a map, compass, and altimeter. Familiarity with basic skills, such as adjusting for declination and taking (and setting) bearings, is a must. Do not put all your eggs in the Global Positioning System (GPS) basket, even though these devices can be of great help. Most GPS units are unreliable at extreme temperatures, and no computer can guide you across those ever-shifting icefalls, where the only safe paths weave between crevasses and around volatile seracs.

Base Camp Before leaving camp, post a handful of bright wands around your tent. If carrying a GPS, set a waypoint here, or — if doing a single-push ascent — at the car or trailhead. Place all navigation gear in an easily accessible, yet waterproof, pocket — for example, a Ziploc‟ed bag in the chest pocket of your jacket. There‟s nothing worse than searching through a backpack in hurricane-force winds.

Check Your Altitude During the climb, even if the weather is perfect, confirm the altitude at important junctures and set GPS waypoints. Knowing at what altitude you crested, say, a certain ridge on the way up will make exiting the ridge safer, even if later you have no visual reference point.

Know Where You Stand Regularly check your map during the ascent, so that you always know approximately where you stand — you should be able to trace your route on paper. All too frequently, people pull out the map after the storm has hit, with little idea where they are or what their route looks like.

Trail of Holes When traveling over a crevasse-ridden glacier, punch holes in the snow with a ski pole every 15 to 30 feet. Site two deep holes right after each other, so they align to point back in the direction from which you came. This may be the only way, short of bringing hundreds of wands, safely to retrace your route. Even in nasty storms, the holes take much longer to fill in than your tracks.

Your Partner, Your Landmark If you were unable to leave a trail of wands or holes, use the front person on the rope team as an extension of the compass needle. First, using the map and compass, figure out your direction of travel. (Write the appropriate bearings — southeast/140 degrees, say, to make it off a given glacier — on your map before your trip). If poor visibility occludes landmarks, send your partner to the limit of your rope or visual range, and, through waving or shouting, line her up with the bearing. Walk toward her, and then repeat, thus honing the accuracy of your bearing.

Aim Off-Target When using your map to determine a bearing, aim slightly left or right of your target (tent, trailhead, etc.). That way, when you hit the appropriate altitude or landmark feature (road, snowfield, stream, etc.), you‟ll immediately know if you need to walk left or right to arrive at your target. If you aim straight for your target and miss it by a few dozen meters, it may be impossible to figure out which way (left or right) you need to travel. Whiteout survivor Martin Gutmann once lost himself in a tub of French vanilla ice cream... and didn‟t resurface for days.

Tech Tip - Trad - Extending an Anchor on a multi-pitch route By Molly Loomis Illustrations By Keith Svihovec

A guide‟s technique for belaying novice seconds As the adage goes, speed equals safety in the mountains. But this doesn‟t mean speed instead of safety. Maintaining constant visual and vocal contact between you — presumably, an experienced climber and/or guide — and a neophyte under your tutelage will yield easier passage through terrain otherwise known as time-suck territory. The more Beta you can offer him whilst he cleans a stubborn piece of gear or works through a dumbfounding crux, the less time you‟re likely to waste shouting commands and vital advice into the wind or hanging around, waiting for an electrical storm to swoop in. A Brand-New Masterpoint There are many ways to extend an anchor, in order to come down from the top of a pitch and keep an eye on your second. But often the question remains, how do I, once the second climbs up to me, keep him on a top belay (instead of transitioning into a lead belay) while he moves from the extended anchor up to the primary anchor — potentially a necessity in tricky terrain or in certain “institutional” (i.e., climbing-school) settings? The following technique should be utilized by experienced climbers or guides only, and on terrain below your limit.

One After constructing a bomber anchor atop your pitch, attach yourself to the anchor‟s masterpoint with a münter hitch (instead of the typical clove hitch, etc.). Next, use this münter to lower to your desired belay stance (the side of the rope leading down to your partner is your brake strand). Because you‟re attached to the anchor with a münter hitch, you must keep your hand on the münter‟s brake strand at all times. If you want added security, tie a knot some feet down the brake strand and clip it to your belay loop.

Two Once at the perfect spotting perch (e.g., a small ledge), pull up three feet of slack in both strands of the climbing rope. Because you have to pull slack through the münter hitch, your belay will be compromised momentarily. Standing on casual terrain will increase safety, as will that brake-strand backup knot clipped to your belay loop.

Three With your three feet of slack, tie an overhand- on-a-bight using both strands together, with the knot above both you and your second. This knot will now function as an extended anchor, as well as a tie-off to lock off the münter hitch on which you

just lowered yourself. Attach a locking carabiner and an auto-blocking belay device (e.g., Reverso) through the eye of your overhand-on-a-bight; this will be the new belay point for your partner.

Four As your partner works his way up the route, coach and congratulate from your perch, pulling in slack through the belay device and stacking it as he comes. When he reaches your stance, back up the belay device by tying off the brake strand with a figure-8-on-a-bight and clipping it to the masterpoint. (This blocks the rope from feeding through the belay device in the unlikely event that the belay device should slip.)

Five Now you and your partner can simultaneously climb back up to the original, highest anchor. As you climb, slack will generate in the system between the overhand-on-abight (to which you both are attached) and the münter hitch. (In order to maintain the belay while climbing, you must pull down on the münter‟s brake strand.) Considering the multi-tasking involved — climbing while keeping a hand on the brake — and the potential consequences of taking your brake hand off the rope, it is important that you use this configuration on terrain well within your comfort zone.

Six Do not release your brake hand until you are both clipped into the main anchor. Finally, disassemble the extended anchor, restack the rope, and fire the next pitch. Molly Loomis, a mountain guide, has used this technique more than once to encourage a second.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Hauling sense by Matt Samet Illustrations by Mike Clelland Use lightweight Tiblocs to haul a pack on steep pitches, and keep your ropes organized so they don‟t get tangled. CORRECTION: The illustration shows the two Petzl Tiblocs oriented in the wrong direction for the inclined teeth to engage using the hauling method described. Managing ropes and packs. On steep alpine free routes, where you need to have extra clothing and food along, but can‟t be burdened by climbing with a heavy pack, there‟s an easy albeit time-consuming solution: hauling. With this, however, comes the extra clutter of the haul line and the pack at each belay ledge. I can‟t count how many times my haul line has become tangled in the lead line, causing endless frustration and rearranging when I should have been climbing. But I‟ve finally learned that streamlining the pack-hauling process and maintaining an orderly belay will help you save precious minutes, if not hours. Here are a few ways to go about it. Use a Tibloc or two. While strenuous, hand-over-hand hauling is often the quickest way to get the pack up to the belay, you can rest between tugs by running the haul line through a carabiner rigged with a Petzl Tibloc. The Tibloc is a featherweight ascender that lets the rope feed smoothly in one direction, while clamping it firmly in the other. Rig a pulley by running the rope through the biner and Tibloc (oriented properly for the direction of pull) high on the anchor. Now you can let go of the haul line anytime you want, without fear of dropping the pack into an anchor-stressing freefall. If you want to

save your arm strength for the climbing, you can let your legs do the hauling by bringing another Tibloc. Simply attach the second Tibloc to your side of the haul line with a long sling, and then step down on the sling to pull the rope through the carabiner-pulley. While the first Tibloc holds the load, you can slide the second Tibloc and sling back up the rope, and repeat. This technique is not as fast as hand-over-hand hauling, but the heavier the pack, the more useful it becomes. Tame your ropes. Left to their own devices, ropes will get crossed, stuck, and knotted at belays. Avoid the inconvenient lap or leg coil by using long slings to stack your ropes. Use separate slings for your climbing and haul lines, and coil each rope butterfly-style as it comes in, draping arm-length bights of rope over alternating sides of the sling. Don‟t even think of pulling in the climbing rope until your haul pack is clipped into the anchor and the haul line is stacked neatly out of the way. You can prevent the climbing and haul ropes from crossing by keeping them on separate sides of the anchor. Before hauling, make a burrito. If you are forced to bring two packs up the route, combine them into one before you begin. An empty pack can be compressed into a small wad and stuffed into the bottom of the other pack, reducing drag while hauling and halving your risk of snagging a pack under a roof. Pack wisely. Poor packing is another cause of belay-ledge snafus. To avoid unnecessary rummaging, keep high-use items like food, warm hat, and gloves in the top lid, and put water and rain jackets right at the top of the main compartment. As I learned in a deluged rappel during my attempt on the Diamond last summer, the bottom of the pack is probably the worst place to stash your rain gear.

Tech Tip - Big Wall - Super dooper By Mike Clelland Illustrations by Mike Clelland

How to build an alternative poop tube. You‟ve decided to do whatever it takes to go light on your next wall. Everything is laid out nice and tidy on the ground. You and your partner scrutinize every item that goes into the haulbag. How many hooks? Which jacket is lighter? But what do you do about that homemade PVC poop-tube? It weighs over four pounds (empty)! How can you justify dragging that up the wall when “fast and light” is the mantra? You can‟t. Instead, go light with a virtually indestructible, lightweight (11 ounce), packable boater‟s dry bag, and, at under $15, cheap. Make your “deposit” in a brown paper bag, enclose this in three plastic bags, toss this package into the dry bag, and you are golden. For this purpose, a number of dry-bag styles and sizes work. Regardless of the design and capacity, tie on a clip-in loop and be sure to roll down the lid at least three times to guarantee a leak-proof seal.

As a companion to the dry bag, you‟ll also need a few items to make your duty a little more civilized. I have a stuff sack filled with these essentials clipped right to the dry bag, but a zippered, multi-pocketed kit will keep the items better organized. Besides the obvious bags and TP, be sure to toss in wet wipes and a film canister of baking soda, which you sprinkle into the plastic bag to keep the odor down. After you top out, be sure to properly dispose of your dry bag‟s contents. Simply tossing the contents into a dumpster is illegal for public health reasons. Instead, deposit your waste into an RV dump. Most national park campgrounds have one of these. To keep your dry bag hygienic, hose it out with soap and water. So long poop tube — hello dry bag.

Tech Tip - Sport - The 10 essentials of sport climbing By Matt Samet Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Get kitted up — and don‟t forget the dog food. If you‟re a crusty old dinosaur like me then you probably remember being taught the importance of the 10 Essentials upon your introduction to climbing and the mountains. While these items (map, compass, food, water, umm, uh, hmmm ...) are just as important to safe mountain travel as they ever were, the ultracommitting realm of modern sport climbing has yet to see the creation of its own list. Here it is, in no particular order:

1. GriGri. Still short-roping your partner with a cord-kinking belay plate? Get hip to Petzl‟s GriGri, a veritable godsend for belay-challenged sport climbers. Not only does this self-locking belay device make it much harder to drop your climber, it also lets you go “hands-free” when the hangdog-a-thon begins.

2. Belay gloves. Ropes are dirty, and rope handling will coat your hands with a gloss so insidious as to potentially spoil a redpoint attempt. Unless you dig cleaning up with baby wipes between belay sessions, wear gloves (thin leather or BMX-type gloves work well) to protect your precious mitts.

3. Water. Many climbers neglect to hydrate properly during the day, a bad practice that can lead to reduced

performance, muscle cramping, and brittle tendons. Drink regularly and make sure your urine is clear (not Pine-Sol yellow) for optimum hydration.

4. Food. Sure, you can starve yourself all day and feel a bit lighter on your feet, but at a certain point the novelty of the low-blood-sugar stupor wears off. Everyone has his or her own opinion about crag food. Avoid sugary foods and anything you find hard to digest lest your belly bloat and diminish your body tension.

5. Extra clothing. You probably won‟t freeze to death at most sport climbing areas, where the car is rarely far away. Nevertheless, it‟s a good idea to keep warm — especially when belaying — so your muscles stay limber and loose. Fashion-conscious folks should sport trendy down jackets while the more “alt-minded” set should opt for a grittier brand like Carhardt.

6. Cell phone. Testimonials abound about how useful these otherwise irksome devices are in crisis situations. They can also be used to telephonically troll for beta, as in “Hey dude, I‟m out at the Super Sleazy Cave and I‟m wondering where that 14th kneebar goes in on Spuzz Bucket.” Don‟t forget to leave the ringer off at the crag.

7. A big, wet dog. These aren‟t actually that essential but people love to bring them climbing anyway. What‟s up with that?

8. Kneepads. A necessary evil, kneepads are part of any smart sport climber‟s bag of tricks. Most cognoscenti prefer their kneepads with a patch of shoe rubber sewn to the front for greater adhesion.

9. First-aid kit. Get all the necessary emergency-care items in here, plus a skin-repair kit. As my friend Jean, a die-hard sport climber, once said, “If the back of my hand touches the rock it‟s not climbing!” Though most sport routes don‟t require the use of crack gloves, athletic tape over a thin layer of tincture of benzoin helps with tendon support and skin repair. An emery board for filing down calluses and a set of nail clippers are also de rigeur.

10. Stick clip. The potential for abuse is high with these. Some find them handy for high first clips while others find them handy for aiding up routes full number grades over their head. The choice is yours.

Tech Tip - Trad - Storm's a comin'! By Matt Samet Illustrations by Mike Clelland Know how to go up when free climbing is out of the question — break out the shoulder-sling aiders and prusiks.

4 ways to keep your cool. It happens to the best (and even the fastest) of us. Hundreds of feet off the deck, you suddenly find yourself trapped, pinned down by an ugly beast spitting white-hot lightning and drowning the rock. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees when dealing with objective hazards like lightning but here are a few ways to decrease the potency of your epic.

1. Don’t panic. Storms aren‟t like dogs — they can‟t smell your fear. Nevertheless, being methodical in your response to the situation will up your chances of survival. This includes you and your partner keeping your cool by not giving voice to worst-case scenarios. Encourage each other (“We‟ll get through this,” not “We‟re gonna die!”) and concentrate on your breathing. Many people hyperventilate in tense situations, exacerbating their anxiety and making it hard to think clearly. Remember the simple things, like donning extra clothes before you get wet and cold.

2. Weigh your options. Don‟t immediately assume that your best option is rappelling. Depending upon how high you are on the route, it may be best to climb up to safety or find a sheltered place to stay put until the weather passes. Scope out other escape options, such as ledges you can traverse to easier ground. Keep the lines of communication open between you and your partner, even if that means seconding a pitch in the rain to reach her on a higher ledge versus unproductive shouting. Any decisions are best made together.

3. Move quickly but safely. If you decide to rappel, do it quickly and decisively. Don‟t hem and haw over leaving your favorite cam as part of an anchor, fiddling with less-precious nuts when it‟s obvious the cam is safer. No piece of climbing gear is worth more than your life, or your partner‟s!If you decide to go up, don‟t muck about trying to keep your ascent all-free if the rock is wet. Place solid gear and pull on it, hang on it, or stand in it (you can jury-rig “aiders” with shoulder or prusik slings or a cordelette) to make upward progress. It‟s faster to free climb (when safely possible), but it‟s also easy to slip on wet rock and a broken bone will quickly complicate your epic.Always carry prusiks and know how to use them. With the rock soaked and not free climbable, it‟s much more efficient to second a pitch with prusiks than by aiding.

4. Pray. It can‟t hurt, can it? I‟m not necessarily a religious man but I‟ve found myself pleading with God a few times while rappelling in thunderstorms. Having a mantra, be it prayer or otherwise, will allow you to focus and keep your head. Even the lyrics from a favorite song might help. Something from the Doors comes to mind ...

Tech Tip - Training - Cheater's Banquet By Matt Samet

How to climb at the gym ... without pulling down Because I work 9,000 hours a week and — fattening with age — am increasingly cowed by real, outdoor rock climbing, I‟ve become an unrepentant gymrat. But a wondrous thing has happened since sport climbing‟s Dark Ages (the 1980s), when avant-garde course-setting consisted of slapping two one-finger pockets in a row (¡craz-eee!) on some monkey slab and capping it off with a nine-foot sideways leap. Verily, today‟s gyms own, hone, and rock your dome. To wit, grip shapes and texture have become more innovative, complex, and skin friendly, with volumes, outsized holds, and macro features introducing a rock-like chaos. And routesetters have become cannier, too, avoiding finger-wrecker stopper cruxes in favor of consistent, power-resistant climbs that let you train, not flail. Gyms also feature a few semiconstants: movement is point-to-point, and the climbing surface is much more monolithic than your average rock route. As such, gym walls are a canvas for a specific kinesthetic idiom, one that, should you become fluent, translates into smarter, smoother climbing ... inside and out. Use these tips to help learn the vocab.

Surface Tension On rock, the blank space between grips is often just that: blank. But in the gym, that space serves as one giant grip. Why? Because modern-day gym texture is awesome — tacky, like the rubber-loving iron rock at Hueco, say. (Note: six coats of paint slathered onto beater plywood do not constitute “sweet” texture.) In fact, today‟s walls make smearing, flagging, and posting a snap — no excuses, brau-holio. Whether inside flag or out, toe, edge, arch, or heel, your shoe will stick if you press with the quickness and with authority. The same goes for posting — tapping/smearing your unengaged foot up the wall to ootch to a handhold while highstepping with the other foot.

Slop Style The smart (read: weak) climber quickly learns to drape as much of his body as possible over the climbing surface. Slap an elbow or forearm onto a macro, hug that tufa volume, check a swing with a shoulder, throw your whole leg around an arête, and belly-flop with panache. The net idea is to use as much of your skin as possible — it‟ll grow back. Another sloptacular trick I use is to put my foot an

inch or two above a jib, and then let it skid down to the foothold — this saves the effort of proper footwork.

KneeBob Mungepants Here‟s a dirty little something I‟ve learned: when you do a drop knee or turn a foot in, to stand outside edge, your knee grazes the wall. When it does that, that‟s a hold. You won‟t shed more than a whisper of weight this way, but you can temporarily outstrip gravity (try it with both the inside and outside of your kneecap) by using your knee as a fulcrum. And if no one‟s looking, I might even lay my knee atop a macro ... or kneebar against it.

Pressure Drop On vertical climbs or those that follow a flat panel, at any angle, stabilize an off-balance move and/or keep your hips aligned with the wall (the least strenuous climbing position) by pressing the palm of your “off-duty” hand flat against the surface. A species of outrigger, this maneuver quickly checks barndoors or even generates upward motion, as a “vertical mantel.”

Stand Tall Gym footholds — 3-D bumps on a 2-D surface — provide a unique opportunity to study how positioning your feet close to and away from the wall affects mobility. I.e., just because a foothold sits flush doesn‟t mean you should stand in the crease ... despite any false feeling of security. By toeing onto each foothold‟s tip, freeing your ankle to articulate, you can actually extend your reach — the play along the arch and into the calf lets you stand tall, like a ballet dancer in plié. On the other hand, with macros and larger grips, sometimes just slopping the middle (meat) or back (heel) of your shoe onto the guts of the hold best does the job. And most sneakily, you can also pop an impromptu heel-toe on larger grips by plunking your heel down and camming your toe directly against the wall. Addicted to coffee, Twizzlers, and chalk, Matt Samet is also a Halo 3 “Headshot Honcho.”

Tech Tip - Aid - Topstep Mania By Chris Van Leuven Illustrations by Mike Tea

Highstep with confidence, on walls big and small After several seasons in Yosemite, tallying sloth-like aid lead after sloth-like aid lead — as does many a big-wall nOOb — I finally got it: if I efficiently highstepped in my aiders by using the top rung/s, aka topstepping, I could drastically reduce lead times and clip those oh-so-distant fixed pieces. (Revelation!) In fact, by doing this, you, too, can shave hours off rivet and head ladders. Just don‟t try harder aid leads until you‟re confident with this technique — and keep in mind that it works best with bomber, multi-directional pro.

The Quickdraw Method Unless you enjoy unexpected daisy-chain (read:a shock-loading) falls, never totally trust your fifi hook. Back it up with a quickdraw — a shockfree grab for sketchy moments — clipped to your belay loop and that you can clip into a free aider or daisy biner. For steep pitches, use a short draw to optimize reach; on slabs, extend your quickdraw with extra biners and/or slings to compensate for the low angle.

What About Fifi? The fifi hook is crucial for quickly advancing/stabilizing your feet in your aiders. When efficiently bumped up your daisy loops — or hooked behind a wire or tat — the fifi improves torque and keeps your hips close to the wall. Your fifi should sit extremely close to the hip-and-leg-loop juncture, girth-hitched through both for maximum torque and easy postural adjustment.

Giant Steps Once standing/hanging from the quickdraw clipped to your daisy biner, you‟re ready to topstep. First, grab the spine of an accessible aider biner for balance, advance your dominant leg up one step, and fifi into the daisy biner. Next, place your weaker leg into the next step up of the opposite aider and slide the fifi up the daisy biner until it hooks the top; straighten your legs almost entirely. Allow the leverage from the quickdraw to hold you in place — you may have to transfer the fifi onto your pro, be it a bolt hanger, cam sling, wire, or tat — or simply disengage it to lean back on the draw, for maximum reach. Repeat as necessary. Once at your desired height, free your hands by pushing your right heel into the arch of your

left (in a “V” or “T”), simultaneously posting your toes against the wall. It‟s possible to gain some extra reach by forcing the toe of your shoe into a grab loop. Alternately, you may keep one foot in the next step down. Finally, place or clip the next piece, transfer your fifi to the lead daisy at hip level, and step down at least one step in your lower aiders (to decrease impact force in the event of a blown placement). Bounce-test. In many cases, moving one aider up to a loop in the advancing daisy chain helps increase force when testing — but keep a good grip on the quickdraw. Is the piece good? Keep going ... unclip the draw and transfer your other aider to your daisy chain or biner, and advance the fifi. (In some awkward situations, say reaching over a bulge during a traverse, it‟s best to clip the aiders to a daisy loop.) Finally, unclip the lower daisy and clip your rope to the last piece, now below your waist.

Feather the Edge Topstepping is uncomfortable, so plan ahead to minimize your pain. While still in your second or third steps, pre-select your next piece and clip it to the end of your free daisy chain, which you can link to your gear loop or neck of your T-shirt for easy access. Carry a chalk bag — grabbing the rock provides quick stabilization — and wear stiff, approach-type shoes for foot protection. Contributing Editor Chris Van Leuven now topsteps, highsteps, and steps correct wherever he might climb. The Topstepper‟s Checklist • 2 140cm daisy chains with an oval biner at each end • 2 five- or six-step aiders with an oval biner clipped on top • 1 fifi hook • 1 15cm quickdraw

TECH TIP - Trad - HIGH EXPOSURE By Mark Synnott IllustrationS by Keith Svihovec

Big-wall “do‟s” for an unplanned overnight We left the Black Canyon‟s North Rim Campground a little before 9 a.m. — fine if we weren‟t climbing Stratosfear (VI 5.11+ R), on the Painted Wall. Come dark, we still had three pitches left, including the crux. We faced a decision: an open bivy at a hanging belay or tricky (and runout) 5.11 in the blackness. My partner and I settled into our harnesses for a long, cold night. We were lucky: the weather held, and we made it off in the morning. But others, similarly equipped while out for a long day‟s free climbing, have faced deadly winds, downpours, freezing temps, and anything else synonymous with epic. Here are six tips for surviving your next unexpected big-rock bivy.

Bare Necessities Synthetic material retains its insulating properties when wet, whereas cotton definitely does not. So unless you can crawl from crag to car, you‟ll need moisture-wicking, synthetic clothing (e.g., fleece, polypro), plus a rain jacket and hat. If you drop your hat, an extra shirt tied around your dome will suffice, as will a jacket hood. You‟ll stay warm, too, by pulling your arms and head inside your midlayer. And some backpacks come with an extendable draft collar in order to function as a bivy sack. Another time-honored foot placement is inside your partner‟s jacket, in his armpits. A final must-have is a headlamp with spare batteries and a fresh bulb, firmly attached to your helmet in case of whippers. Bring a backup torch, even. You can almost always rappel out of a tight spot, but if it‟s dark and you‟re without a light, fuggedaboutit. Toughen UpThe worst part of an unplanned bivy is controlling your head. Decide on a survival plan, and then stop second-guessing the outcome. You will live. People have suffered through far worse. Talking passes the time (even when alone), so try 20 Questions or an analysis of climbing ethics. …

Love the Water An average epic bivy won‟t have enough water to see you through till morning. As soon as a benighting appears imminent, take stock of your supply, and ration into small portions to span your expected stay. Everybody‟s heard we can drink our own urine seven times before it becomes pure poison. But I know two guys who did it on the Black Canyon‟s Scenic Cruise (V 5.10d), and they were extremely sorry. Instead, cure dry mouth by sucking on small stones. Also, a thin piece of plastic tubing functions nicely as a straw, for sucking water from cracks and other hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.

Wind Shield Wind is a quick heat sinker. Find out which direction the wind‟s coming from by using an old sailing trick: put your face into the wind and turn your head from side to side until you feel/hear the breeze equally in both ears. Once you know the prevailing wind direction, look for protected nooks. You can

also build a wall with rocks, sticks, branches, or your pack, or rig a lean-to/wind block with a Space Blanket and some cordelette.

Spoon… Man Obviously, you could do even more when stranded with a significant other, but chest-to-back is the classic position. Pad the ground with the rope, backpacks, dry leaves, pine boughs — anything to prevent heat from escaping into the ground. If you have a Space Blanket, wrap yourselves inside burrito-style. MacGyver It! Two 21-foot cordelettes (you can cut them to rig rap anchors) and some climbing tape go a long way on epic rappels. If you don‟t have a knife, find a flat spot on a rocky ledge to lay the sling/cordelette down, and then bash it with a fist-sized rock MacGyver-style. Next, use the tape to turn a regular biner into a “poor man‟s locker” for your rappel points. Despite many an epic night, Senior Contributing Editor Mark Synnott has yet to drink his own urine.

TECH TIP - Sport - SPACE CADET By Lee Sheftel Illustration by Keith Svihovec

Corralling an absent-minded partner We all have one: a climbing partner so lovable that we put up with with his intractable spaciness. Take my friend Dave, who‟s always losing his keys and often has at least two or three Grigris (only one his own, of course) floating in his climbing pack. Sometimes, he even loses his dog… in my car, for instance, at the end of a long day at Rifle. However, more than being just an annoyance, absent-mindedness

can

present

genuine safety hazards. No, you‟re not responsible for your partner, per se, but you are aware of his habits and can help him along in a way that‟s not too mutually frustrating. Lay-about When you reach a staging area, let your friend set down his pack, and then place your things at least 10 feet away. Now keep your equipment discretely sorted, perhaps on a rope bag. This way, when your friend yard-sales his gear, you‟re out of the impact zone. And as gently as you can, encourage him to unpack away from people already climbing — or give others fair warning: “Hey, my friend‟s a total train wreck — watch your stuff!” Inventory When you‟re wrapping up a session, inventory your gear, including water bottles, shoes, belay device, quickdraws, kneepads, and even clothing. Unless you micromanage your things, your buddy might absent-mindedly pack up or space any of them. (Those trips up and down — and back and forth — looking for scattered gear waste precious climbing time.) Also, ask, “Did we

get everything?” before you leave, prompting your partner to pause and sort through his stuff. You don‟t need to pore through his pack with him (this would be overbearing), but it is a fair question. Extra-fication I keep a spare (full) water bottle, some energy bars, an extra harness, and a spare set of rock shoes in my car, for those days when I might forget something, but mainly for climbing with Dave. (You can also have your partner give you his old harness or a pair of his shoes, to safeguard in your kit.) Also, insist that your friend keep a hide-a-key on his car, especially if he‟s the designated driver. With the spaciest partners, you can even make a spare copy of his car key for yourself. For longer road trips, buy a different color and size of wallet — Dave walked away once with my billfold, mistaking it for his. Lawn Boys Dave likes to bring a camp chair to belay from, OK(ish) on the warm-ups but bad juju on a hard route, where if you say “Take!” such laxity might spell 10 feet of penalty slack. Better to say, “No lazy-chair belays today, please — let‟s not even be tempted, and leave it in the car,” before you start climbing. Check Your Selves You should insist on certain “novice-level” safety precautions. Knot the stray end of the rope (a good practice anyway) and rigorously check your buddy‟s tie-ins and harness (“Your knot good?” “Harness doubled back?”), as well as his anchor set-ups. I like to toprope my partner‟s leads for training, so I‟ll verbally confirm that he‟s gone into both bolts, preferably with an equalized set-up, before I leave the ground. Regardless, when you near the top of the climb, clip the belayer‟s side of the rope to the last quickdraw. And maintain solid verbal communication when climbing — instead of a perfunctory “Watch me!”, which might not register, say something like, “Hey, man, I‟m hitting the crux here — watch me real close, OK?” Although he‟s one of the West‟s sharpest tax accountants, Lee Sheftel has been known to space out a time or two himself.

Tech Tip - Sport - The Month By Andy Raether Photos by Kieth Ladzinski

28 Days of Training with Andy Raether Editor‟s Note: Andy Raether, 22, tackles harder lines at a higher volume and at a faster pace than the rest of us. Nevertheless, you can use the principles Raether lays out below to turn your self into a lean, mean sending machine. My training schedule comes as a result of eight years of focused effort. When I train well, I can redpoint climbs like Stockboy‟s Andy Raether bouldering in Rocklands, South Africa. Revenge (5.14c FA; Rifle), an 80foot limestone power-endurance route, but I can also tap raw power, say that required by the Rocklands‟ roof The Vice (V13/14). Although the sends came a year apart, I used similar training methods in the month preceding both: namely, resistance, or climbing at sustained difficulty over technical climbing, three letter grades below my redpoint ability. I also used my gym‟s 60-degree wall to maintain power. During “The Month,” I climb at least four days a week; I do approximately 6,000 moves, 550 minutes of stretching, at least 150 one-arm pull-ups, and several days of cardio. After The Month, I‟ll rest briefly (a few days), and then work the project in earnest. By applying similar volume principles, at several letter grades below your redpoint ability (i.e., if you redpoint 5.12a, then train 5.11b/c), you‟ll see similar results.

Goals My goal after The Month is an 18-bolt 5.14c open project near Eldorado Springs Canyon that challenges my technical abilities and power endurance (PE). Thus, I need to maintain (but not increase) bouldering strength and increase route fitness. Whether at 5.11c or 5.13c, training high-intensity PE (e.g., a challenging bouldering circuit) one day a week, and then regular PE (e.g., resistance climbing) three days a week, will yield incredible results. Rest at least one day between each session, but don‟t limit your training to the gym — use the crags, as well.

Training PE

The Treadwall, a vertical treadmill with medium-sized holds that can tip as steep as 45 degrees overhanging, has taken on a prominent role. I‟ve taken my lead from European climbers, who love their Treadwall mileage. I climb on four “routes,” each running 150 moves total, with a 20-second rest (pressing “stop” while on the wall) every 40 moves. I follow this up with 10 to 20 minutes of passive rest (i.e., off the wall) between each route. Sans Treadwall, you can achieve the same mileage via long traverses on a bouldering wall or by running lead laps at the gym. On days when I favor power over endurance, I‟ll boulder relatively nonstop (two to three hours) in a gym, at anywhere from 40 to 70 percent of max power, on roughly 30 problems. This constitutes my “high-intensity” PE training. Although I try to make each problem unique, I often “two-scoop” the same problem to accumulate volume. This approach effectively maintains power while increasing PE.

Recovery I give as much attention to recovery practices — icing, massage, electrical muscular stimulation (EStim), and diet — as I do to training itself.

E-Stim E-Stim sends electrical pulses through specific muscles, making them lightly contract (i.e., flinch) and increasing blood flow, thereby flushing out lactic acid, a by-product of PE training. The Euros, like Dani Andrada, use E-Stim often — it‟s more efficient than, say, solely resting or light massage. I use an E-Stim unit ($300-1,000 online; visit compextechnologies.com) daily for 30 minutes.

Diet I average 3,000 to 3,500 calories and a gallon of water daily during The Month. For each meal, I ingest “good” fats, like olive oil; a source of protein, like chicken; and a healthy carbohydrate, high in dietary fiber and with a low glycemic index, like lentils. I graze on healthy snacks (granola, energy bars, fruit, or carrots) during the day to keep a constant level of energy. Andy Raether enjoys long walks on the beach, holding hands, and ponies.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Alpine Groveling By Freddie Wilkinson Illustration by Mike Clelland

Back to the basics Star Date: January 2005. I‟m buried in a massive cleft three pitches below the summit of Patagonia‟s Aguja Desmochada. With my back against a smooth granite wall and both feet planted across from me, I stare into an 18-inch-wide runnel of WI5. It would be great climbing… had I brought screws, ice tools, and crampons. I shimmy up several inches but slide back down a foot. I‟m going nowhere fast. This is my nightmare. Every alpine rock route has terrain that‟ll get your goad. It might be wet, slimy, loose, crumbly, and/or snow-covered rock, and it might even be a slab. But there are no secret shortcuts on such messy terrain. There are only the basics. Size „er up. Take an extra 10 minutes to pre-inspect each pitch from the belay. Predict the gear you‟ll need. Ask questions (e.g., should I re-engineer the belay to free up that #4 Camalot?). Identify any hazards, or possible variations to avoid said hazards. Aid, if necessary: pulling through difficult sections can be faster and safer than going gonzo at that wet offwidth. Likewise, consider a short rappel or tension traverse to circumnavigate sticky problems. Briefly brainstorming with your partner will often open up better stances and stronger placements, and single out actively dripping rock. Dress for Success. Keeping an ice axe clipped to your harness on snowy rock proves invaluable, and I frequently find climbing nasty alpine terrain in my approach shoes or boots to be easier than donning

tight rock shoes. Also, in wet conditions, a pair of tight-fitting Neoprene gloves provides phenomenal coverage, as does a hooded, waterproof jacket. Protect the Belay. Before setting off on an ugly pitch, establish a safe belay: protect from falling rock and ice, as well as from wind, rain, snow, and sun. This may seem obvious, but I once had a partner build a belay under melting snow, with a single drop of water hitting him every few seconds. After an hour of this Chinese water torture, he was soaked and we decided to bail. Easy Does It. Climbers try to rush through bad terrain. This is a bad idea. Take your time and maintain an open dialogue with your belayer — communication lets him know what you‟re thinking and will often calm the nerves. Your belayer, from his perch below, can sometimes spot the easiest passage. Heed his advice. Climb Smart. Keep weight evenly distributed on all appendages on suspect rock (i.e., use your feet and don‟t overgrip — a classic mistake on sketchy terrain). Just because the rock is wet and loose doesn‟t mean the basics of climbing technique don‟t apply. Breathe deeply, and keep your shoes dry by invoking creative footwork and proper balance as you tromp through wet spots and small snow patches. We Don’t Need Another Hero. Place lots of passive gear — especially right off the belay — looking for horns, threads, and other potential natural anchors, to conserve pro you‟ll need up higher. Also, protect blank traverses by climbing a body length or two above, placing a piece, and then downclimbing back on route. As a rule, placing copious pro will yield shorter pitches and stronger communication, giving you a chance to rest and keep your mind sharp. If I had a nickel for every time I‟ve blown past a suitable ledge because it‟s just 40 meters above the belay, only to find myself at the end of the rope and having to engineer some dodgy anchor, I‟d be a friggin‟ thousandaire. Practice!!!

Climbing wet, loose rock is an acquired skill — the more you do it, the better you get. Next time you‟re at the crags, don‟t avoid pitches because they look a little skunky. If you get regular groveling done at home, it won‟t feel as strange on a remote alpine route, and who knows… you might start to enjoy the experience. Freddie Wilkinson knows how accurately to put down the worst rock and make it feel like the dirty choss that it is.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Shelter For The Storm By Molly Loomis Illustration by Mike Tea

Pitching the perfect tent in the high mountains. When a storm hits, most expedition climbers play cards, pick lint off of their boot liners, or fantasize about sipping Mai Thais. A little “tent pitching” and a flask of grandpa‟s cough syrup easily bide the downtime for most, but when Mother Nature blows nuclear-strength wind and weather directly onto you, you don‟t want to be that sorry sap chasing after a torn-up tent. Here are a few pointers to prepare your “perfect” shelter for the storm. Set up or Shut up. A

sloppy

set-up

means more work in the long run — get it right the first
time. Your

tent‟s

main

entrance should face downwind, with the long

axis

aligned

parallel to the wind. Do as much prep work on the ground as possible, attaching the tent to at least one anchor point on the windward side and sliding all poles through their sleeves (or clips), so they can easily insert into their respective gussets the moment you raise the tent. The Roots. Once you‟ve placed the fly, secure the back vestibule with a solid anchor. (This windwardside anchor will take the brunt of the blow, so make sure it‟s bomber, with a secure picket, deeply buried deadman, or a pile of rocks heavy enough to hold strong when you‟re tugging on the guy lines.) Next, anchor the tent‟s front vestibule (the main entrance), ensuring that the tent‟s long axis is fully stretched and taut; then work your way around the tent, guying out the

fly. A properly secured tent body and fly will diminish excessive flapping, which stresses the material and creates obnoxious, sleep-interrupting noise. Skirts. If you spend lots of time in nasty conditions, add a valance: a wide flap of nylon running around the fly‟s bottom edge (buried under snow). Widely used outside the United States, the valance acts like a powder skirt of sorts — it minimizes snow blowing up underneath, helps anchor the tent, and reduces fabric flappage. In the States, your best bet is to hit the fabric store, and then sweet-talk your grandma (or local tailor) into sewing the valance into place. In Antarctica and similar locales, valances are the norm. Bulletproof. Snow walls provide additional wind blocking. Build your snow walls as tall as the tent and distant enough (3 or 4 feet) to provide ample room for such tasks as moving guy lines and shoveling snow. When the wind is especially strong, build two concentric rings, or make a single wall two blocks thick. This will further mitigate direct wind and drifting, and also mute the beastly howl. Calling All Reinforcements. In punishing winds, reinforce your position by lashing a climbing rope back and forth over the tent. If you have a second set of tent poles, insert them alongside the original poles (i.e., parallel), to augment the tent structure. And for internal fortification, place backpacks, boots, and bodies against the most wind-beaten wall. Housekeeping. A snow-cloaked fly can collapse the tent. One indication of snow build-up is a dampening of noise (i.e., less howl) and a loss of ambient light. If you‟ve gotten to that point, you‟re behind the ball — it‟s maintenance time! Use either a gloved hand for snow removal or, if you must, a shovel, taking special care not to shear a guy line or cut the tent itself. Back up. “Be, be, be prepared” — it‟s the motto of the Boy Scouts, and it‟s a good one. Unless you prefer freezing to death, you‟ll need to act quickly if the tent has collapsed, thereby snapping

your poles and tearing apart your shelter. Can you dig in? Where‟s the best place to dig a snow cave? (To prepare for this eventuality, you should scope alternative bivy sites and suitable escape routes during fair weather.) Instead of sleeping with a teddy bear, rest with your shovel, and keep your headlamp and warm layers close at hand. If it‟s terminally nuking, sleep with a knife, a measure of last resort you can use to cut through the tent. Hearts and whiskey are Molly Loomis‟ preferred ways to pass a stormy day.

Tech Tip - Sport - The quiet art of solo toproping By Jeff Achey Illustrated by Mike Clelland

High Lonesome Which is worse: training on the same old greasy boulder problems or losing your climbing partner in a fight over unmarked gear? Either way, climbing alone is a fact of life. If you want a new way to train or work your latest project without the inconvenience of a partner, try solo toproping. Solo toproping is not rocket science — the techniques are straightforward, and the only special gear you need is a device for the belay. However, some specialized rigging is required, so follow the steps below for a safe solo experience. Unlike conventional toproping, solo toproping requires only a single strand for the belay. However, a back-up line fixed to the anchor makes the whole operation easier … and safer. If the pitch you want to climb is more than half a ropelength, bring a second rope for rigging your back-up system. Warning: If your route of choice is located at an area primarily used for lead climbing, you‟ll want to toprope

from an anchor on the cliff face, rather than above, to avoid knocking down loose debris. If it‟s a sport route you‟re climbing, this shouldn‟t be a problem. For a trad line, it is best to locate an anchor placement beforehand. 1. You‟ll have to build a rappel anchor, so gain the top of the cliff and set to rigging. Be sure to warn everyone nearby beforehand — you‟re a serious hazard and they should give you a wide berth. Once the top anchor is secure, rappel over the cliff‟s edge on a single strand, to your toprope-anchor location. If rigged properly, it‟s very unlikely that your solo belay device will fail. Nevertheless, ensure that the back-up line will keep you from hitting the ground or any other obstacles such as ledges. To do so, pre-tie loops in it at regular intervals — tie as many as you think you‟ll want. If you don‟t have a second rope, you can tie back-up knots into your main rope, below the solo device. 2. Clip into the anchor — if it‟s a trad line, you‟ll have to build it first — back yourself up and tie off the summit line to the anchor. Leave it slack, so it won‟t dislodge rocks as you climb. Now, fix your back-up rope to the anchor and drop it down. 3. Next, rappel your main line to the ground. Attach your solo belay device to the rope, weight the rope end with a light pack or extra gear to help it feed, and clip two locking carabiners through your belay loop. 4. You are now ready to climb. Clip one of the lockers to your first backup loop at about the 15-foot level. Use the other locker to clip the next loop before unclipping the first, and so on. If you ever feel the need for a closer backup, simply tie one where you want it, taking tension from your main belay rope as needed.

Tech Tip - Ice - Mix and Match By Sean Isaac Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Body

Holstering

for

Leashless

Climbing We‟ve all heard it: “Leashless ice climbing is the wave of the future.” And, indeed, the freedom it offers is unparalleled — complex, flowing, three-dimensional

movement

on

modern mixed routes, and a greater sense of liberty on vertical pillars. This freedom does come at a price, though. Foremost, where do you stash a leashless ice tool when you need to let go, but don‟t want it tomahawking

to

the

ground?

Holstering your axe using available body (and equipment) parts solves this problem. Personal preference will

decide

techniques

you

which become

specific most

comfortable with, and most mixed climbers employ a combination, depending on the situation. We‟ll start with the most versatile and move to the more specialized mixed-trickery. Thumb Hook. Of all holstering techniques, thumb hooking offers the greatest degree of efficiency. This method ensures accessibility and is ideal for quick tasks like changing hand positions on the

grip or clipping bolts. Do it by hooking the pick of the free tool into the crook of the thumb on the opposite hand. Shoulder Hook. Perhaps the most common practice is to hook the axe over your shoulder. This works well for fighting the pump, by allowing you to shake out both hands on one tool. Drape the shaft bandolier-style across your chest, to keep the axe available for either hand. (Hooking it such that the shaft hangs beside you makes it difficult to grab with the same-side hand and increases the risk of droppage.) Avid mixed climbers

often use

Velcro as

a

retention aid: Sew loop-side Velcro to the shoulders of your climbing top and add a sticky-backed strip of hook-side Velcro to the front of the axe‟s shaft, from the head to just above the top grip. Mouth Grab, aka the Pirate. Some people hold the tool in their mouths for brief periods, by biting the middle of the shaft. This technique may not suit you, especially if you have a small mouth. Also, it can impede breathing, which speeds up when you‟re pumped silly. Wrapping the shaft of the axe with rubber tape, like tennis-racket grip tape, will soften the blow to your chompers. Thigh Hook. For steep routes on which the body is oriented in a horizontal position (i.e., feet level with hands), the torso and thigh offer alternative body-holstering sites. Again, you can add a Velcro

patch to each thigh of your climbing pants to keep the tool in place. Some folks lay the tool across their stomachs but if your feet cut loose, so does your axe. Tool Hook. Hooking on the other tool also can free up a hand. Modern tool geometry offers plenty of spots for holstering. Hook it over the pick, the upper grip‟s pinky rest, or the shaft if the tool is in a horizontal stein-pull. Using heel spurs for a horizontal roof offers yet another placement option: the inverted sole of the boot. Simply suspend the axe from your foot by hooking it over your crampon. Sean Isaac, the author of Mixed Climbing, is an ACMG Assistant Alpine Guide based out of the Canadian Rockies.

Tech Tip - Sport - Redpoint Resting By Brittany Griffith Illustrated by Mike Clelland

The why, when, and how to shaking off the pump “Just dirt me!” I squawked. Hopelessly hanging 10 feet from the anchor for the umpteenth time, I was nearing tears. A local, who had the route ruthlessly wired, coolly suggested that I “work the rest” more. For me, this “rest” was hardly restful — I‟d once managed to completely fall out of it. Suffering here on my next go, I looked over and noticed a golden eagle plucking fuzzy yellow goslings from the river. Perversely fascinated, I stared over at this real-life episode of “Wild Kingdom”. By the time it had ended, I had rested longer than ever before, fully recharging

my

batteries

—

and

finally

redpointing the route. The moral? Sufficiently recovering at a rest often means the difference between success and failure. You have to rest — no matter what. Sweet spots. Sniff out rests stances during preliminary dogging burns on your project. Seemingly impossible sequences are far more doable when you‟re relatively fresh from a rest, and blasting through a lower crux isn‟t as bad when you

know you‟re gunning for that jug. A rest might be an obvious rail or jam on which you can camp forever, or it can be as subtle as sitting on a good foothold long enough for a couple of shakes and chalk-ups. Climb from rest to rest, not crux to crux. Get in the mix. Once you‟ve begun resting, vary your body position and the holds you use. You may have to alternate between bigger holds and smaller or more difficult-to-grip holds in order to rest all muscles. Figure out which specific strengths you‟ll need for the remainder of the climb: Are there more crimps than slopers. What about big lockoffs? You might need to keep one arm totally fresh — sacrificing a little on the opposite side will give you that snap when you need it. Don’t panic! The pump may actually increase when you first arrive at a rest stance. Don‟t freak out! Focus on deep breathing, to relax and reduce your heart rate, not on how strained your muscles are … or how many more bolts you have to go. Hang back all the way onto the bones of your arms, with your weight over your feet. Our bodies have the ability — known as muscle memory — to remember what a given body movement or position feels like, which allows repetition without conscious effort. So, just as you practice the crux moves over and over, so, too, must you “learn” each rest. About Time. As you start to get the juice back, and your heart rate and breathing return to normal, stay put. Calm your mind: Visualize successfully maneuvering through the remaining sequences. Remain at the rest until you‟re bored out of your skull or your belayer is whining that he has to pee. Note, however, that there will come a point, especially with a marginal rest, at which you‟ve been hanging around for too long and begun to lose any gains. Resting aids. In this easiest-side-of-easy day and age, we have devised all sorts of creative ways to rest more effectively. I will describe, but do not necessarily endorse, these dubious doings: • Kneebars

• Knee pads for kneebars • Multiple knee pads for multiple kneebars • Inserting non-conventional body parts (e.g., head, elbow, ass, etc.) into the rock • Clipping high above the rest and downclimbing back to it, effectively affording a comfy toprope (is that your belayer sitting slightly on the rope?). See also Climbing No. 223, “Tech Tip - Trad - Discrete Tension”. Brittany Griffith, guilty of all five of the above alternative “resting aids,” is currently working rests on the warm-ups at Rifle.

Tech Tip - Training - Amino-Acid Trip By Kyle Vassilopoulos Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Sustain higher energy levels and speed up recovery with protein It‟s probably happened at one time or another: menacing thoughts about energy deficits hurting your climbing performance, keeping you up at night. Unfortunately, climbers don‟t always have the best methods for maintaining. We often go on harmful, unhealthy diets. And the dirtbagging approach to eating often proves detrimental, too. Why? Lack of protein — a raw material required by the body for proper function and recovery. Besides repairing tissue, protein maintains your immune system (producing antibodies), helps produce cells, aids in neurotransmitter activity, and facilitates muscle output by transporting, via blood, a number of substances, such as minerals and oxygen. What exactly does all this mean for your climbing? Obviously, without protein, a climber has much lower energy levels at the crag and slower recovery. Ergo, protein must be a part of your diet. Needs. If you read the contents listing on the side of a food item and think you‟re getting enough protein, you‟re probably wrong. Of the more than 20 amino acids proteins provide, nine are essential (i.e., the body cannot synthesize these on its own) to healthy

adults.

Combining

proteins —if a plant source lacks certain amino acids, such as

lysine—

with

a

complementary

amino

acid

source (e.g., peanut butter) can ensure consumption of all nine amino acids. This is called “mutual supplementation,” and it‟s not necessary to eat these at the same meal. Interestingly

enough, although coined as “incomplete,” proteins in many plants (e.g., legumes) contain the nine essential amino acids in low amounts. Thus, in comparison to meat — like halibut, salmon, tuna, and more, which boast high levels of amino acids — you must consume more plant protein to obtain the same amount of aminos. Supplements. Along with plant- and animal-source proteins, you can add different protein supplements — most available at your local health food store. Casein and whey top the list of best protein supplements. Both of these milk-source proteins are easily used by your body and packed with branched chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are catabolized (broken down) mainly in muscle, and, thus, crucial in exercise and recovery. Casein is a slow-digesting protein that will supply your body with a constant source of amino acids, best consumed right before bed or on rest days. On the contrary, whey causes a rapid increase in amino acid levels within the blood, and is best taken before, during, or just after climbing. How Much? The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein intake is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight. Serious climbers will need between 0.6 and 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. In other words, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to consume somewhere between 90 and 120 grams. Try consuming 15 to 20 grams of protein — about 200 calories‟ worth — in a small snack (e.g., turkey sandwich with swiss or mozzarella cheese, yogurt, or protein energy bars) a halfhour before climbing. This will give the food time to catabolize and increase the amount of amino acids in your bloodstream. Once at the crag, customize a sports drink with a 60-40 carb-to-protein ratio. Use a favorite sports beverage and add in some whey protein (again, 15 to 20 grams). This will keep you hydrated and supply your muscles with both simple carbs and BCAAs. It should be noted that protein consumption prevents excess production of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and energy levels), whereas carbohydrates — when eaten alone — increase serotonin levels.

After an epic day, eat something with simple carbs (e.g., fruit) right away. In the first hour after climbing, your muscles are the most receptive to this form of nutrient uptake. A wellbalanced meal within two hours will round out the deal, maximizing your recovery efforts. For rest days, make sure that you meet protein requirements (at least 1.5 times the RDA) and try to eat a variety of protein-rich foods. Protein for Dummies Beans and legumes Cheese: Look for low-fat cheeses such as Swiss, mozzarella, and cottage cheese. Chicken breast Eggs: To reduce fat intake, eat mostly egg whites, which are all protein. Fish: Salmon, tuna, halibut, and others Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and natural peanut butter Lean Beef: 95 percent or more lean, sirloin, or top round steak Protein powder: Whey and casein Quinoa: A complete protein. It is high in fiber and gluten free, and has 11 grams of protein per 1/2 cup. Turkey: Ground, or sliced for sandwiches Kyle Vassilopoulos lives in Bozeman, Montana. A former martial artist and professional downhill ski racer — and current 5.14 climber — Vassilopoulos is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to train.

Tech Tip - Sport - Flash Pump Begone! By Matt Samet Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Recovering from Blasted Forearm Syndrome. Now you‟ve done it — you wanted to wow the entourage, so you warmed up on a route two number grades harder than usual, hoping you would style. You were pumped at bolt two, but hung on anyway, scrapping and flailing skyward out of sheer stubbornness. By the time you went chains, you‟d accrued a massive

case

of

Blasted

Forearm

Syndrome (BFS): that burning, tight, tingling flash pump that signals the end of any real climbing for the day. Don‟t slink back to the campsite yet, though — there is hope. With a few stretches and lacticacid-shunting routines, you can still recover and clip the steel gates of success, winning the hearts and admiration of fawning groupies everywhere. Massage. To break up the bunched, rigid muscles in your guns, you‟ll need to go deep. Create a loose fist with one hand and rub the knuckles down the forearm of the other, twisting slightly. Work a grid pattern, pressing just to the point of pain then releasing after five seconds; describe a series of pressure points from wrist to elbow. Let your hand flop where it will. You can also massage with your thumb, rub your forearm crosswise with the heel of your hand, and/or massage the inside of the palm to release your finger tendons. Stretch. Once you‟ve worked both arms,

gently stretch for five to 10 minutes. Your motions should be steady and sure — no bouncing — and you should hold each stretch for at least 10 to 15 seconds. Hold your hand palm out, as if stopping traffic. Pull back on the fingertips of that hand with the other for 10 seconds; release. You can also go finger by finger, and/or point your fingers toward the earth — the key is to extend your wrist. To stretch the top of the forearm, flex your wrist, cupping and bending your hand toward you, and pull gently on the cupped paw with your other hand. Now, face the crag and place one hand, palm oriented vertically, flat against the wall at shoulder height. Gradually rotate away from the hand until you feel a subtle stretch along the arm and into your pecs and shoulders. You can play with rotating your outstretched palm to the left or right, too. Alternately, if you can find a flat surface at knee to hip height, lean over, then place your hands flat, fingers facing backward, and move into the stretch. You can also do this on all fours, or one hand at a time if it stresses your wrists too much with both. Iron. Properly stretched, get to ironing. With one hand in a karate-chop position, palm facing you, “iron” your opposite forearm from elbow to wrist. Use a steady, gentle pressure and move slowly, repeating as necessary. Do the same for the extensor muscles on the top (outside) of your arm. Now, flex and extend your fingers to bring blood to your digits, and rotate your wrists in small circles. Regaining your stride. Repeat the above routine as necessary — I might go through it two or three times before I jump back on the rock. Keep the bar low for a bit, staying on easier, more vertical terrain until you feel normal, healthy blood flow returning. You may want to massage and stretch before each route for the rest of the day, and forego the proj. I‟ve suffered weeklong cases of BFS when I didn‟t listen to my body.

Tech Tip - Sport - Developing über strength By Eric J. Hörst Ilustrations by Mike Clelland

Looking to up your grip strength? H.I.T. training with a weight belt is the way to go. Want to increase your maximum strength and power? Would you like to feel stronger on small handholds and increase your prowess on dynamic moves? Are you stuck in a performance plateau and need a boost to surmount it? If so, I have a one-word solution: “hypergravity.” Sure, improving your technique and mental game is always paramount, but sometimes a climbing breakthrough demands pure strength. Unfortunately, there‟s a physiological limit to how strong you can become by simply training at a fixed resistance. In climbing, gravity provides a training resistance that‟s limited to your weight. Developing a higher level of climbing strength and power requires that you increase gravity‟s apparent pull. You can create this with hypergravity training by adding weight to your body as you engage in a climbing-specific exercise. The long-term benefits of hypergravity training are analogous to the lightness you feel after taking off a heavy backpack. Imagine creating this effect on the rock. By conditioning your body to exercise — and climb — at a greater resistance level than your bodyweight, you can make this lightness a reality. The following are three hypergravity exercises aimed at giving you über strength. It‟s best to simulate hypergravity with a weight belt that sits near your center of mass (a weighted backpack is too cumbersome), which will be different for men and women. Buy one or two 10-pound weight belts at a sport store or use a large fanny pack and add two-pound diver weights as needed. One word of caution: hypergravity training is inappropriate for novice

climbers or anyone in poor general conditioning (can you do 15 pull-ups and climb at least 5.10?) or suffering from a finger, arm, or shoulder injury. Weighted pull-ups. This may be the single-most effective strength training exercise for intermediate and advanced climbers. Performing three sets of pull-ups with an additional five to 30 pounds will produce big gains in pulling strength and power. For initial workouts I suggest adding five to seven percent of your bodyweight. Experiment to determine your ideal training weight — I recommend an amount that still allows you to do three sets of pull-ups (between 10 and 20 reps each). Take a three-minute rest between sets, and increase the weight by five pounds if you can do more than 20 pull-ups. If available, you can utilize a health-club-style “pulldown” machine as an alternative to weighted pull-ups. This, too, will require a little experimentation to determine the ideal training weight. Begin with a weight equal to your bodyweight (the weight marked on the plates may not be equal to doing pull-ups at bodyweight), and increase it as needed to produce muscular failure in eight to 12 repetitions. Crank out three sets with a three-minute rest between sets. Plus 10 bouldering. Tired of your home-wall workouts or of sending the same boulder problems at the gym? Strap on a 10-pound weight belt and you‟ll have a powerful gripstrength and power workout! After an extended warm-up, climb a circuit of five to 10 moderate boulder problems (a few V-grades below your limit). Concentrate on climbing each problem with crisp technique and smooth execution. Rest for five minutes between problems and ditch the weight belt at the first sign that your technique is suffering. Favor problems with medium to long reaches, and avoid painfully small holds and out-of-control dynos. H.I.T. system. Hypergravity Isolation Training (H.I.T.) is the gold standard for building grip strength. Not to be confused with the “HIT” workouts performed by bodybuilders, this highly specific grip-training method involves weighted climbing up, and down, a 45-degree wall using identical finger holds, spaced approximately 18 inches apart, for an entire set. Targeted stimulus is the lynchpin of this isolation strategy, and it‟s best achieved by using specialized system holds or by creating a “ladder” of identical holds. The goal is to execute one or two sets for each primary grip position: pinch, two-finger pocket, full crimp, half crimp, and open hand. Each set should be performed with enough added weight to produce grip failure in 10 to 20 hand movements. Climb with open feet (favoring positive — but not large — holds that

won‟t produce an unexpected foot pop) and allow your body to move and turn naturally during the up and down laps. Take a three-minute rest, and then kick into your next H.I.T. set. It‟s important to keep your training progressive, so add weight for future workouts if you‟re able to climb more than 20 hand movements before failure. Keep a training notebook and record your progress. These records will be helpful for guiding future workouts, and, in a few weeks, they will reveal definitive gains in finger strength! Eric J. Hörst is author of Training for Climbing and the upcoming Learning to Climb (available March 2006). Visit Training4Climbing.com to learn more about Eric‟s training strategies.

Tech Tip - Alpine - The soft-knot method By Dave Nettle Ilustrations by Mike Clelland

Roping up the soft-knot way. While trudging along the glacier on the approach to Mount Foraker‟s Talkeetna Ridge, I had time to ponder everything from how to balance my life‟s priorities to an endless loop of an old Eagles song stuck in my head. Eventually, I actually began to focus on the glacier travel and realized that there‟s a more versatile and functional way to rope up, especially for climbers who travel in a party of two and want to keep their equipment to a minimum. The method is based on a core roperescue principle: avoid the use of “hard”

knots

bowlines,

(e.g.,

figure-8s,

butterflies)

whenever

possible. When a crevasse or cornice fall occurs while two climbers are moving together and connected with hard knots, they‟are essentially stuck in place and their options are limited: The belayer must establish an anchor in the exact spot where he or she is, and the victim must ascend from the point where he or she is suspended. In the real world this scenario isn‟t ideal. Mechanical soft knots. Here‟s how the “soft-knot” method works for a two-person team traveling with a 60-meter rope. Be sure to pre-mark your rope in thirds with a rope-friendly pen so you can easily locate these points. To get started, both climbers should tie a figure-8-on-a-bight on their ends of the rope and clip this to their harness‟ belay loop with a locker. This hard knot is important as it provides a backup but still allows you to easily escape if necessary.

Shoulder-coil the 20 meters of rope between your figure-8 and your one-third marking. Next, attach yourself to the rope with a Grigri, clipping in to the device at the one-third mark. Be sure the rope is properly threaded through the Grigri, and that the rope exiting from the “climber” icon on the device is going toward your partner. Use a 9.8 mm (or thicker) rope, as skinnier cords don‟t work in a Grigri. (Note: Petzl has not tested this technique for the Grigri and neither condones nor disapproves its use.). Drop the first shoulder coil (coming from your Grigri), giving yourself a two-foot loop. Use this to secure your shoulder coil by wrapping it around the coils a couple of times, tying it off with a clove hitch or half hitch, and clipping the coil tie-off loop to your harness. This keeps the hitch from loosening and provides an intermediate backup for your Grigri. Without this tie-off the rope could auto-feed through the device, causing unwanted slack. By roping up with this method, both climbers have the option to quickly swap leads and to safely change from lowering, ascending, or belaying mode. To deploy the system, simply undo the coil hitch and drop your shoulder coils off to the side, where it will be easy to manage the rope. Practice. Your partner just disappeared into a crevasse, there isn‟t a good anchor around, you can‟t communicate, and things are resembling Touching the Void. Now isn‟t the time to start practicing. As with any complicated technique, it‟s important for both climbers to discuss a few scenarios before stepping onto a glacier so that they can anticipate what to do if a fall occurs and communication is difficult.

Lowering out. For the previously described scenario, I recommend a plan in which the victim has first refusal to lower out in hopes of reaching a stance or an anchor opportunity so that he can unweight the rope. Once there‟s slack in the system the belayer can reposition himself, establish a solid anchor, and reestablish communication while the victim prepares to ascend. The belayer should give the victim at least 10 minutes to execute his or her plan before making the judgment call to lower. Self-rescue. Once an anchor is established, the victim simply places an ascender rigged with a foot loop on the rope above the Grigri and he or she has an effective ascending system. Just stand up in the foot loop and simultaneously pull up the slack through the Grigri, sit back down, and repeat.Using a soft knot in your glacier travel system will expand your options if used in conjunction with standard crevasse-rescue techniques, smart route selection, good partner communication, and practice before you hit the mountain. Even in a grim scenario such as an unconscious partner, you have far more options — and less chance of getting trapped — with a soft-knot system. An effective rescue system will give you the peace of mind to enjoy that glacial slog or sketchy corniced ridge and concentrate on more important thoughts … like that endless Eagles loop, “I‟ve been running down the road tryin‟ to loosen my load, I got seven women on my mind …” Dave Nettle lives in Tahoe City, California, and is an internationally certified Level III Rope Access Technician with the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association. He is an instructor for Ropeworks Industrial Group, for which he teaches rope access and rescue techniques throughout North America, and has been an alpinist for 30 years.

Tech Tip - Big Wall - Portaledge cooking By Mark Synnott Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Safe and secure portaledge cooking. Jon had never used my custom-made liquid-fuel burning WhisperLite hanging stove, so I probably should have given him a demo before letting him use it in his portaledge. He gave it a good pump, then opened the nozzle and over-filled the primer cup. I heard a loud whoomph, followed by Jon yelling as a fireball

engulfed

his

ledge.

Luckily, the flames died before the ledge fully caught fire, but the straps definitely melted. The

incident

important

illustrated

point:

an

portaledge

cooking is dicey, especially with liquid fuel. Unlike cooking in a tent, there‟s literally nowhere to run — and nothing to keep you suspended — if your portaledge catches fire. So don‟t cook in your portaledge unless it‟s an absolute necessity. That said, this Tech Tip is about cooking in your portaledge. For alpine big-wall climbing, a stove is mandatory for melting snow. A butane-canister hanging stove is the way to go for almost all domestic wall-climbing trips as it is easier to maintain and operate, and less prone to accidents (read: fireballs) than a liquidfuel stove. You could purchase one, or if you‟re short on dough, check out

www.climbing.com/techtips/ttbigwall184/, or revisit Climbing No. 184 (page 161) for Beta on how to make one. Rations. So how much fuel should you budget for your climb? Are you just making morning coffee for an El Cap ascent, or are you melting snow for all of your water? Generally speaking, a two-man team that‟s melting snow will burn through at least one eight-ounce butane canister per day. If you‟re only heating the occasional pan of water, a canister might last two days. As with any fuel ration, it‟s always a good idea to factor in a margin of error in case you go over budget. Share the love. A heat exchanger — a piece of copper tubing that wraps around your canister, with one end passing through the flame — helps your stove operate efficiently in cold weather (or when your canister is running low) by heating up the canister and thus pressurizing its contents. Heat exchangers enable your stove to spit out more fuel, and therefore more BTUs. In a cold environment, a heat exchanger can be essential; without one, butane stoves have a tendency to sputter as the fuel runs low. After coiling the heat exchanger around a new canister, I wrap the canister in aluminum foil and then slip the whole fuel assembly into a custom-made, duct tape-covered foam cozie. This insulates the heat exchanger (making it more efficient), and prevents it from melting gear, should you inadvertently bump the stove while cooking. Sewing a custom biner cozie is good Beta for cooking inside your portalege. Location. If you‟re smart, you‟ll situate your stove on a belay seat outside of your portaledge or clip it into the anchor. Better yet, clip it to an independent piece situated near your ledge. This piece doesn‟t have to be bomber — a solid copperhead will do — as long as it‟s backed up. If you‟re like me, you‟ll clip the stove into a strap inside your ledge. A cranking stove can generate a tremendous amount of heat, and if you don‟t insulate the biner where the stove clips into the

ledge, the strap will melt. I recommend buying an insulated oven mitt, cutting off the thumb, and custom stitching a heat insulator that protects the biner where it attaches to both the stove and to the portaledge strap. You‟ll want to hang your stove at about chest height (or just above the floor of your ledge) so you can easily see into a pot. Be careful not to knock the stove, as spilling boiling liquid on yourself is always a bad idea. Also, if the pot gets hot enough and contacts your rain fly, it can melt or burn the storm-proof material. Ensure that your stove assembly can‟t melt any of the ledge‟s straps. Nuts and bolts. Use a waterproof stuff sack with a solid clip-in point for collecting snow; store it outside the ledge. Remember, melting ice chunks yields more water than snow and helps you conserve fuel. Carry a heat-resistant scooping cup for moving snow from the bag to the pot, and for ladling boiling water into your mugs. Have pot grabbers, spoons, and the scooping cup set up with mini carabiners so that you can keep them clipped in when not in use. Ventilation. Your stove needs sufficient oxygen to work efficiently, so keep the doors and all ventilation ports as open as possible, and keep the stove situated so that it sits directly in your portaledge‟s cross flow. If you find that your stove isn‟t firing at full capacity, chances are high that you need to give it more air. This can be a problem when it‟s heavily storming. Hopefully your portaledge comes with a hood over the top of the door so that you can leave it open at the top without letting in the elements. Tools of the trade. If you‟re bringing a stove up a wall, make sure that it‟s going to work. A full repair kit (with spare parts) is essential. If your stove is your only source of water, bring a spare — modern stoves don‟t weigh much. Always clean, service, and inspect any stove before a big trip.

Tech Tip - Ice - Assessing mixed-route placements By Ryan Nelson Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Sussing your proj from the ground provides important Beta — without the pump. You gaze up at the remainder of your mixed route, but the verglassed, dust-covered choss heap has myriad camouflaged holds. No chalk tick marks hint as to which holds will yield passage. Scraping around on creaking holds and hopelessly tossing at unknown placements will only cause you to blow the send. The following tips will help you develop an efficient strategy for reading mixed terrain, and properly testing placements. Eye your holds. As with rock climbing, studying the route‟s features from the ground allows you to build a mental roadmap of the best sequence without getting pumped. Understanding which types of holds make for good placements is the first step to cracking dry-tool sequences. Because tools can hook and cam through the blankest terrain, the number of potential holds on a mixed pitch can be overwhelming. To quickly find the right holds, look for evidence of previous travel. Sometimes a “used” hold that worked well for crampons isn‟t ideal for your tools, so use caution before committing to the hold; it may be sloped and not positive enough for a tool placement. Remember, failing on a mixed pitch is likely the result of incorrectly choosing your hold. Dry tooling puts an amazing amount of force on the stone, so consider a hold‟s strength. Look for solid cracks into which you can cam your pick and large positive edges before resorting to crimps. Make sure the hold is positive enough to support your pick moving in different directions. Because dry tooling requires dynamic movement, your picks may shift angles and positions as you climb. Moving up on a tool placement changes the pick‟s angle and weight distribution on the hold, so a placement that looked bomber when you were hanging below it can be frighteningly bad as you ascend. Swivel and bounce test. Once you‟ve dialed in what holds to look for, it‟s important to properly assess your placements. When you‟re pumped, you become more likely to make mistakes with your placement choices, so quickly and accurately assessing a placement is one of the best ways to stay in control.

Testing holds is the best way to find solid placements and the best sequence. After choosing a placement, place your pick on the hold and apply a small amount of weight to the tool, then swivel the head from side to side. This swiveling motion will either cause the pick to skate off or help slot it into the hold‟s most positive depression. If the pick pops, look for another hold. If it holds, straighten your arm and gently bounce once or twice from your shoulder to test the placement‟s strength. This bouncing can cause your tool to skate or break the hold, but it also will reveal if the placement is weightworthy. By testing every hold you ensure that all of your placements are solid; if one tool pops, the other is capable of holding your weight. Using this test will turn dry tooling into a matter of endurance, rather than a roulette game of bad holds. Transitions. Mixed climbing involves transitioning from rock to ice (or vice versa), or you may climb on both mediums continually throughout a pitch. Sometimes these transitions can be the easy section, other times the crux. Several rules of thumb can be used to make icy sections tactical advantage points. Depending on the condition of the ice, it can offer excellent rest opportunities. If the ice is relatively thick and your pick can get full purchase, resting here is way better than shaking out on delicate rock holds. Even ultra thin ice or verglas can make for better placements than rock holds; you can determine this by testing the verglas via the swivel bounce test. Test every placement to ensure you‟re climbing on strong, positive holds — odds are good that these mark the proper sequence. If a hold fails during your swivel bounce test, stay relaxed and continue to seek out other options. Remember to analyze the ice sections and see if they offer good rests. Finding the right sequence immediately allows you to relax your mind and climb with confidence, helping you solve the puzzle through efficiency, strategy, and wit.

Tech Tip - bouldering - Avoiding the beached whale By Chris Van Leuven Illustrations by Mike Clelland You‟ve just hiked the crux of your latest proj. Just a few easy moves and a nasty topout separate you from victory. You stick the final grips with ease, and pull up to the lip. Then it hits you: Your feet are way off the deck, and you‟re not sure what to do next. Panicking, you throw a leg onto the lip, but your heel skates off the rock. You hold your breath and try rocking onto your other foot, but your pumped forearms are too weak. Suddenly your loud cursing mingles with the sound of a deep phumph from your crashpad. You throw your chalk pot at the boulder, compounding your humiliation with a blatant display of mental weakness. Your peers lower their eyes at your shame. Now you‟re probably familiar with a standard mantel top out: grab the lip with both hands, plant your feet in the running position on the face, pull down, press up, then swing a foot up onto the lip. If a top out is very rounded or sloping, however, you might need different Beta. If you‟ve ever climbed in the Southeast, you‟ve noticed most problems end with an absolutely heinous mantel. Those Southern boys and girls never wince at the grim slopers and featureless topouts, but you don‟t need to whistle Dixie to hike mantels. Here are seven steps to the perfect Southern-style sloping topout: Step one. When you reach the lip of a boulder, quickly evaluate which foot to swing up onto the lip (from now on this foot will be known as the pivot foot). Let gravity work for you by swinging your pivot foot onto the low side, not the high side, of the boulder. If the lip is horizontal, pick your stronger — or favored — side to swing up. Do a half pull-up, and simultaneously raise your pivot foot over the lip, keeping your knee slightly bent. Try to find a good heel hook, edge, or foot scum to use as a fulcrum — extra purchase is useful for floating a mantel. If possible, use your other foot to edge on the face of the boulder. Step two. With your arm opposite your pivot foot, reach out laterally, approximately a forearm‟s length, and grab a hold on — or slightly above — the lip. Palm the rock with your fingers facing slightly towards your body. Flag with your non-pivot foot to keep from barndooring. Step three. Contract your pivot leg so that your hips are even with — or higher than — the lip. Hold yourself in position with friction from your pivot foot. Bend your elbows, and use your ab muscles to bring yourself aggressively close to the rock. If you‟re having a hard time making your foot stick, try draping your pivot-foot leg over the stone, contacting the rock with

the underside of your calf muscle, to create additional friction. Step four. Pop your pivot-foot hand and elbow 90 degrees so that your fingers face your torso. Shift your other hand 45 degrees outwards (away from your body), and switch your fingers from clasping the rock to palming it. This positions your shoulders over your wrists, and improves your overall leverage. Step five. Rock up, pulling with the thigh and calf muscles of your pivot leg, keeping tension with your abs. Turn your pivot knee in slightly, and pull your torso over the lip. Flagging your non-pivot foot helps as a counter balance, as does smearing (backstepping) on top of the lip with your non-pivot foot. If done properly, your body will be almost horizontal to the ground. Step six. Dig the inside edge of your pivot foot into whatever feature it‟s on. If there are no features, firmly push of your shoe into the rock to maintain friction. Now lever up onto this foot, twisting your torso inward. Drive hard with your elbows as you push your shoulders over the lip with your palms. Step seven. Extend your elbows and stand up. You‟ll likely have to make minor adjustments in the position of your hands and body to keep your balance as you go from perching to standing.

Tech Tip - Trad - Sidewinder By Craig Luebben Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Squeeze-chimney climbing made “easy.” On the first ascent of the striking parallel-sided squeeze chimney Sidewinder, in Long Canyon, near Moab, I reached a spot where the crack was just wider than the length of my foot. I was struggling for every inch of progress with my body in a vertical orientation. Many how-to books show a “T-stack” for the feet to span such a crack. Apparently it works great for some climbers, but I‟ve never gotten much mileage out of this technique because the leg position feels awkward, and my knees get in the way when I try to move my foot stack up. I was desperate to find an easier way through this section, so I started trying all sorts of voodoo magic. Finally, I rotated my body into an almost horizontal position, and discovered the “Sidewinder” technique, which allowed me to easily (OK, it still wasn‟t that easy), and relatively quickly, get to the end of the grueling pitch that ate 12 Big Bros for protection. To do the Sidewinder, work your body into an almost horizontal position inside the squeeze chimney, with your head slightly higher than your feet. To do that, press your palms and knees against the front wall, while pressing your back, feet, and triceps against the back wall. A combination of three techniques will hold you in the crack: chicken wings for your arms, a hip/butt rotation (twisting your upper hip into the front wall and lower buttock against the back wall) for your mid-section, and knee bars for your legs. For the chicken wings, set the triceps of your upper arm against the back wall and your palm against the front wall, with your elbow pointing up and your fingers pointing down. Your lower arm will be the same, only with your elbow pointing down. Pulling down on your upper triceps — or pushing down on your lower chicken wing — cams your arm into place (somewhat like a TriCam). To cam your mid-section into the crack, rotate your upper hip into the front wall, and your lower buttock against the back wall. For the kneebars, set both of your knees against the front wall, and keep your heels against the back wall.

Now the fun part: slithering up the squeeze chimney like a snake. First, you need to get horizontal. Set the chicken wings, then slide your hips up and rotate them into the crack, then slide the legs up and set the kneebars. After two or three rotations you should be close to the horizontal position. To move up the crack, rotate your torso upward while letting your chicken wings slide up the crack, then reset your arms. Next, slide your hips up and rotate them back into position. Finally, slide your legs up and reset your kneebars. Repeat ad nauseum until you punch through the section. Pace yourself to keep your heart rate at a manageable level. The skin over the triceps of your upper arm will get thrashed, so wear a long sleeve shirt. Elastic, neoprene, or best, rubber kneepads, will help protect your knees. If you have a long stretch of Sidewinding to overcome, you can switch so you lead with the opposite side of your body to spread the pain and skin damage. To do this, move upward while rotating your body into a vertical orientation, then keep rotating until your opposite side leads up the chimney. Your partners will be baffled as they first see your head, then only your feet, sticking out of the slot. Many variations to the theme exist, depending on the architecture of the crack. Being creative, openminded — and somewhat masochistic — will see you through the worst Ever since Craig Luebben invented the BigBro tube chocks, he‟s been forced to pursue the masochistic world of wide-crack climbing.

Tech Tip - Trad - Fancy feet By Jared Ogden Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Ever feel puzzled by how to best utilize your feet on crack climbs? Splitters can feel desperate if you don‟t have solid footwork. Whether you‟re heading out to send your granite nemesis, or to the cracks of Indian Creek, these techniques will have you better prepared for tight fingers to loose hands. The basics. The basic foot jam that all other jamming is based on is best learned in a hand crack, as this size allows for solid feet. Use a shoe that allows your toes to lay flat. To start, slot your foot (big toe up, pinky toe down) into the crack up to the arch of your foot, keeping your knee out to the side. Next, torque your knee inwards (towards the crack), twisting the shoe and locking it into place. Bend at your waist to raise your legs instead of bending your arms. This might feel insecure, but once you step up, your weight will shift back onto your feet. With both feet locked in, push up with your legs, maintaining pressure on your feet, and bring your hips in close to the wall at the end of each movement, in order to transfer weight off your arms and onto your feet. Your ankles should feel like they‟re holding most of your weight, and your hands are simply holding you in place while you step up. This is the nuts and bolts, but the technique becomes more refined on the smaller sizes. Also, keep an eye out for any edges on the face next to the crack, or pods in the crack where you can get better purchase. Ratchets and ringlocks.

A low-profile shoe wedges nicely into these cracks, but to get even more traction, use the frog position. To do the frog, keep your feet high and close together, with your knees out to the sides. Then, twist your knees in as you push up with your legs, and repeat. By placing your smallest toes in the crack, with your heel pointing down and your toes up, wedge the rand of your shoe hard into the crack. Your ankles should feel strained to maintain pressure, and your little toes should hurt since you‟re really stuffing them hard into the crack. tips. On these smaller sizes make sure to keep your feet high, and don‟t stretch out too far with your hands because you‟re more likely to lose control of your feet. A tighter shoe on the really small cracks will provide better control on edges next to these nastiest. Torque your feet as in the basic method, but focus on smearing the rand on the pinky toe side into the crack. Look for the smallest irregularities in the crack, paste your toes on invisible smears, and work the edges no matter how desperate. Experiment by using one foot in the crack while the other smears on the face, especially in a dihedral where you have more surface area to work with, and where it might be more taxing to climb with both feet in the crack. Push hard with your feet like you mean it, and keep plugging away. Now that you‟ve read about it, you need to practice. Toproping is a great way to dial in each technique. To develop these techniques, conserve arm strength and focus on your footwork. Crack climbing is hell on your ankles and painful on your feet, so focus on speed and continuous movement; stalling in an uncomfortable position is the worst. After you‟ve made some headway with these techniques, you‟ll be flying up these harder sizes, grinning ear to ear.

Tech Tip - Sport - A faster belay By Majka Burhardt Illustrations by Mike Clelland

The speedy Grigri method. Mechanical-assist belay devices — the Petzl Grigri and Trango Cinch — are popular both at the cliff and in the gym. Many people favor these units for single-pitch climbing and hangdog sessions, but using them properly is key to using them safely. The common conception

that

mechanical-assist

belay

devices are auto-locking devices is wrong, and this misconception often results in accidents and unsafe belays. Neither device is “hands-free”; both require an active brake hand on the brake line to function properly. The

trickiest

element

of

operating

a

mechanical-assisted belay device is feeding rope to the leader. These tips are designed to make sure that your next belay session is safer, and that your leader never again gets short-roped. For more information on the Grigri and the Cinch, please visit the manufacturer‟s website. The gradual-feed Grigri. As the climber moves, the belayer can use a Grigri just like any tube-style device. Gradually pulling (and pushing) rope through the device with both hands is key to making this work — if you pull/push too fast, the device will lock up. The Speedy Grigri. While the gradual feed method works great for small adjustments, it isn‟t fast enough for speedy climbers or quick clips. The most common way to speed-feed rope to your leader is to temporarily grip the device‟s locking cam with your brake hand, and pump rope out with your

guide hand. The problem with this method — not recommended or approved by Petzl — is that many belayers make the mistake of keeping their brake hand on the Grigri throughout the course of a leader‟s pitch, thus inhibiting the unit‟s locking cam and exposing their partner to accident or injury in the event of a fall. Your Grigri will only stop a fall when the cam is free to engage the rope, so the safest belay is one where the cam is restricted the least amount of time. Once you‟ve dumped out slack, immediately return your brake hand to the brake line, and adjust the amount of slack in the system. A good Grigri belay is an active one — use the gradual feed method to make micro-adjustments. The cup method. The cup method. If you‟re teaching a novice to belay, or delegating belay duties to someone who‟s never before used a Grigri, one method — also not Petzl approved — to consider is the “cup” technique. For quick feeding, temporarily “cup” the top of the Grigri with your brake hand (keeping your thumb closest to your chest and parallel with your other digits), and use your guide hand to quickly pump out one or two armfulls of slack. The Grigri will only be pulled tight against your cupping hand when you‟re actively pulling out slack; as soon as you stop feeding cord, the Grigri will drop down a few inches and is ready to accept a fall. As with the “speedy Grigri” method, immediately return your brake hand to the brake line after you‟re done dumping slack, and fine-tune any slack in the system with the gradual-feed method. It‟s a Cinch. The Cinch also tends to lock easily in normal gradual-feed mode. Trango‟s recommended method for fast-feeding is to hold both the device and the rope with the brake hand (see illustration), and simply rotate the device downward, pumping out rope with your other hand. Positioning the Cinch downward in this way straightens the rope‟s path from the

leader, through the device, to the brake hand, reducing the tendency for the device to lock. As long as you maintain a grip on the belay rope, any jerk on the lead rope will tend to rotate the device back upward, and engage the locking mechanism. Another quick-feed method — not recommended by Trango — is to briefly deactivate the device with the silver thumb tab designed to allow you to unlock the device if a leader pulls rope too quickly. Hold the tab, quickly

pump

out

slack,

and

immediately return to normal belay mode. The key with both the Cinch and Grigri methods is to maintain an constant, firm hand on the brake end of the rope. If you deactivate the cam, do it very quickly and consciously, then move your brake hand fully onto the rope and maintain an active, attentive belay.

Rotate the Cinch downwards for fast rope delivery.

Tech Tip - Alpine - The ultimate alpine kitchen By Majka Burhardt Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Cooking is the art of necessity in the alpine world. Given the choice, I‟d rather have linguine with sun-dried tomatoes, clams, and parmesan cheese than ramen noodles

any

day,

especially

when I‟m fueling up for a big climb. Cooking in the alpine world, however, can be a chore, and

as

a

result,

many

backcountry feasts are about convenience,

rather

than

gourmet tastes. Whether you‟re winter camping, or out on an extended

expedition

with

a

Happy climber enjoying their luxurious alpine digs.

basecamp, going the extra mile when setting up your alpine kitchen might just inspire you to create a culinary masterpiece, rather than just eating ramen ... again. The plush life. If you‟re establishing a stocked basecamp and/or climbing with a large group, setting up a central kitchen can make cooking easier. Floorless shelters (e.g., the Black Diamond Megamid, or the Mountain Hardwear Kiva) work great for kitchens, and provide cover while still allowing you to stand up — luxuries that aren‟t easily accomplished inside a tent. Dig a hole. Digging out a five-foot-deep “basement” before setting up your floorless shelter optimizes your cooking and living space. Hint: the hole should be one foot narrower than the perimeter of your floorless shelter. After digging your basement, the next step is to build a countertop that will support your floorless shelter‟s telescoping pole. This is the crux of your kitchen, and a little planning goes a long way. I like my countertop to be three feet tall, two

feet wide, and three feet long. If you start the countertop in the center of the kitchen and extend it lengthwise to the back of the pit (the side opposite the door), you‟ll have one end for the pole and the rest as workspace. Make sure you build the countertop out of work-hardened (compacted) snow, a must for creating a solid foundation for your pole, and a sturdy countertop space that can accommodate multiple stoves. Protect the countertop. Once you‟ve dug the hole, you‟re ready to set up the tent. A small piece of plywood slipped under the pole will keep your floorless shelter from sinking by preventing direct metal-on-snow contact — a sure way to end up with a saggy kitchen by the next morning. I have a small piece of wood (a six-inch square works great) that I‟ve covered with duct tape. This seals the board, preventing sharp splinters or jagged edges from ripping your floorless shelter when it‟s stuffed in the same storage sack. Comfort. It‟s easy to set up your kitchen with options for sitting or standing. Choose two sides of your basement to build benches. These benches should be two and a half feet higher than the bottom of your basement, to allow for comfortable seating positions. Leave the

other

two

sides

for

dedicated

standing/changing room. At high altitude, even the highest-tech boots won‟t keep your feet from freezing, but a small (four-foot-by-fourfoot) ensolite mat can double as a floor mat or a seat for your custom bench — either way, you have great insulation between yourself and the glacier. Stove boards. A simple piece of 12-inch-by24-inch plywood works great as a stove board. (If you‟re carrying a sled, cut your stove board to fit inside your rig.) Though you probably won‟t lug it up to higher camps, for basecamp cooking it makes a world of difference. I often use this board to pair up two stoves underneath one pot to quickly melt snow.

The efficiency kitchen. If cooking in the vestibule is your style, your shovel can make for a better all-around experience. Dig a two-foot-deep pit that‟s inset from the perimeter of your vestibule by six inches. This will allow you to sit comfortably with your feet hanging into the pit — perfect for cooking and boot removal. (If you have the option, choose the larger of your vestibules for your kitchen.) If you‟re using a stove board, keep your vestibule pit narrow enough so that the board can bridge the gap. This also gives you extra storage space underneath for food and boots. Ventilation. No matter which kitchen setup you choose, ventilation is critical to your health. Keep the doors on your floorless shelter or vestibule open when you cook. Cross ventilation is the best; when possible, open the back door, or turn up a corner of your floorless shelter. In addition to her work as a contributing editor for Climbing, Majka Burhardt is a guide for the Colorado Mountain School, and is known for her culinary masterpieces both in and out of the mountains.

Tech Tip - Big Wall - Copperheading By Mark Synnott Illustrations by Mike Clelland A chisel (with a keeper loop) is ideal for pasting head material against stone. Copperheads are a quintessential foundation of granite aid climbing, and my favorite modern-aid-climbing tool. Every aid climber should know how to engineer a copperhead placement, even if it‟s just to replace the odd one that rips out on a Yosemite trade route. In-situ heads. If you don‟t like falling, treat every fixed head with suspicion. Sure, you just watched a party yard off it, but that doesn‟t mean it won‟t blow on you. If you‟re in a hurry, you can test a fixed head with several quick stamps of your foot on an etrier that‟s clipped into the piece. Realize, though, that this method doesn‟t create much of a shock load; it‟s best to give fixed heads a full bounce test. Excavation. If the head does rip, more often than not it‟s the wire that snaps, leaving the head material embedded in the rock. Using your hammer and chisel (if you don‟t have either, consider yourself well-screwed), dig into the sides of the placement, peeling the head material away from the rock. Once you‟ve got the broken head peeled back, hit the chisel hard on the top and bottom of the head. Repeat until the plug pops loose. Prep work. Before putting your new head to the rock, clean out loose debris (a blow tube works well). Next, decide what head size to use. Heads come in different sizes, from one to five, and are made of either copper or aluminum. Either material will work, although I prefer copper for the smaller heads (#1s and #2s), because it‟s a harder metal. Aluminum heads are easier to paste, and may offer better small-crack penetration. Experiment. You‟ll typically be using #2s and #3s, but #1s and #4s are also occasionally useful. If you‟re replacing a ripped head, you‟ll typically use the same size. Sculpting. If your intended placement pod/slot has a natural taper, you‟ll need to shape your head. Lay the head against the rock and hammer on its bottom; this adds a nut-like taper. This technique works beautifully in

constricting placements that are too flared to hold a nut. A center punch is useful for firing head material into a pod or crack. Placements. When fitting the head to the rock, make note of where the cable enters the head — you want the folded-over side of the head facing outwards, thus reducing the chance of chopping the wire when hammering. While the standard practice is crosshatch an “X” pattern into the head with a halfinch chisel (make sure to slightly round the chisel‟s edge or you‟ll chop the head to bits), I prefer to use a center punch with a rounded, one-eighth-inch head (dedicated aid aficionados carry a selection of different chisels and center punches). Start by firing straight back with the punch, trying to pound as much head material into the back of the placement, while being careful not to damage the wire. This creates maximum holding power. Before I begin pasting (smearing the head material against the sides of the pod) the sides of the head, I give it a gentle tap on top with the center punch to see if the head pivots. If it moves at all, it‟s junk, and you need to keep firing more material into the back. Once a head passes the pivot test, I switch to a chisel and work on pasting the material outwards against the sides of the placement. Final exam. When you think you‟ve pasted the head as much as possible, give it a second pivot test. If it doesn‟t move, you‟re ready to give it a full test. In addition to the above-mentioned bounce test, you can test heads with a funkness device. Keep a firm grip until just before the funkness comes tight, then loosen your grip as you come to the end of your stroke, as you don‟t want to static shock load your arms/wrists/hands. This method really only works on #2s and up, as #1s are so fragile that the wire will snap with even the lightest tug. It will take some time for you to get a feel for how hard to rip. I‟ve found that a well-placed #2 or #3 can take a forceful yank. I‟ve broken biners while testing #3s — an indication that just because it‟s a copperhead, doesn‟t mean it‟s dicey. Parting note. Copperheads work well in expanding cracks because they typically don‟t flex the rock. Conversely, heads are likely to rip if the crack is expanding and you inadvertently open it (e.g. pounding a pin). If you‟re standing on a head and are considering nailing in a pin for your next placement, you better be darn sure that the crack doesn‟t expand. Senior Contributing Editor Mark Synnott is an independent guide operating in New Hampshire‟s White Mountains. You can visit his website at www.synnottmountainguides.com.

Tech Tip - Big Wall - Hang Your Stove By Mark Synnott Illustrations by Mike Clelland

While there are excellent commercial hanging stoves available, they have two disadvantages. First, they are costly, and second, they only run on canister fuel, which has its problems in cold weather. You can avoid either, or both, of these problems by rigging your own stove to hang. The simplest to set up is a canister design that comes apart beneath the burner neck (figure 1). To hang such a stove, you need a large pot big enough to contain the burner element and pot supports of your stove, with enough space to hold a cooking pot too. Drill, hacksaw, or file a hole in the center of the large pot‟s base that accepts the stove burner neck. Make sure the fuel container can be attached. With some designs, such as the Gaz Bleuet, the stove‟s pot supports must be removed. In such cases you‟ll need to go to the local hardware store, where for a few dollars, the staff will pop-rivet aluminum angle bars to the bottom of the hanging pot. These will support the cooking pot. Drill a series of vents around the center aperture to allow oxygenation while burning. Drill three small holes, evenly spaced around the rim of the larger pot and use 1/16-inch steel cables about two feet long to hang the pot. At a hardware store, have the cables swaged directly

Figure 1. Gaz Bluet modified to hang

to the holes in the pot rim. Alternatively, have loops swaged in the ends of the cables that can then be clipped to the pot. Swage the cables together at their upper end, making sure they are the right length to allow the system to hang level and are long enough to ensure easy removal of your cooking pot. Lightweight chains also work and don‟t require swaging, but can catch on the cooking pot‟s edges and may make pushing it in and out more awkward. There are numerous ways to hang a liquidfuel stove with an off-board fuel tank. Figures 2 and 3 give two well-tested options.

The

first

utilizes

an

MSR

Whisperlite Internationale fitted inside a

Figure 2. MSR Whisperlite Internationale hanging from modified straight-sided pot.

straight-sided pot. This must be exactly the right size to keep the stove steady. Contributing editor and big-wall pioneer Mark Synnott found his perfect pot, called a “Traveling Light,” at REI, but no doubt others exist. In this case, everything goes inside the big pot except the fuel bottle. A hole is drilled in the pot‟s side to allow the fuel line to enter. The fuel line holds the fuel-bottle‟s neck, while the rear of the bottle is supported by a hose clamp. Holes are drilled in the base of the pot for oxygenation.

Figure 3 shows an MSR Dragonfly, with a “Trillium base” (the base is available for all MSR stoves for $19). In this case the stove is hung directly from the base and no large hold-all pot is needed. The cooking pot is held steady by the three cables from which the stove hangs, and the fuel bottle hangs from the fuel line plus a single loop of cable. Note: a windbreaker sheet of aluminum is easily incorporated, though not shown in the diagram. Important: The nylon of tents and ledges is highly flammable. So be very careful running a liquid-fuel stove in or near them. Fire Ribbon, a flammable paste that squeezes out of a tube, is good for priming liquid-gas stoves and will greatly

reduce

the

dangerous flare-up.

possibility

of

Figure 3. MSR Dragonfly hung from a “Trillium base.” (Windbreaker sheet of aluminum not shown.) Fuel bottle held at rear with single loop of cable.

Tech Tip - Trad - A safe retreat By Luke Laeser Illustrations by Mike Clelland Climb enough trad routes and you‟re bound to find yourself high on a wall, forced to bail. Good planning and an efficient process can help you escape quickly and safely. Best yet, you‟ll be on another route before you know it! Double it up. On long multi-pitch routes, even ones you plan to descend by walkoff, carrying two ropes greatly aids your ability to safely and quickly bail off if you reach an impasse, the weather goes sour, or someone gets hurt. Having a second rope lets you to make the longest raps possible, allowing you to bypass intermediate wads of nappy slings and make it to the bomber anchor below. You can climb on a double-lead-rope system, but I prefer carrying a thin zip line that‟s used only for pulling up a pack and rapping. A 7mm static cord is light enough for the leader to trail or for the second to coil and wear pack-style. Use static cord for your zip, since thin dynamic cord is too stretchy for pulling a long rappel. If you climb on a 60-meter lead line, consider a 65-meter zip line, which allows you to play with the position of your rappel knot relative to a rope-snagging ledge or dangerous edges. This also gives you a bit of extra cord that you can cut off and use for emergency anchor material without losing your ability to make full-length raps. Old ropes with worn-out sheaths are prone to snagging, so climb multi-pitch with the

newest cords you own. Exercise caution when rappelling on ropes of different diameters, as the difference in friction through your rap device can cause unequal rope tension and possible slippage at the anchor. In extreme cases the knot can migrate far down from the anchor and you‟ll get dangerously unequal rope lengths at the bottom of your rappel. You can solve this problem by always threading the thicker rope though the anchor so that the natural slippage (the knot will migrate in the direction of the thicker cord) will wedge the knot against the rings or biners. The disadvantage to this method is that you then have to pull the skinny rope to retrieve your cords, which can wreak havoc on your already-tired hands. Bailing on belay. Your bailing experience may begin in the middle of a pitch. It‟s all too common for climbers in this situation to lower off their top piece, pulling the rest of the gear as they go and risking an increasingly dangerous screamer with each piece they clean. Don‟t do it! If you‟ve climbed yourself into a dead end and the only way out is to back down, you do not need to trust your life to a single sketchy anchor. Instead, unclip your lead line from your top piece, thread your handy zip line, and rap back down while your partner reels in the slack on the lead cord. Should your rap anchor fail, you‟ve only exposed yourself to a normal lead fall (provided you have reasonably spaced gear below you on the pitch). This set up allows you to clean your gear and still be protected if the anchor blows. If you‟re more than a half rope length up the pitch, of course, you may need to make two such rappels. Stay busy. After you‟ve completed your rappel and are waiting for your partner to reach your belay, you can save some time by starting to feed the end of the rope you‟ll pull though the new anchor. (Doing this means you will have to pull alternate ropes, not just your thinner rope, on each successive rappel.) As soon as your partner is down, you can immediately pull your ropes and continue feeding the incoming cord; the ropes will fall in place, ready for the new rappel. Just as the rope starts to fall by itself, give it a good snap outwards (away from the wall); this will help keep it free of obstructions. If you‟re first down the rappel, you‟ll need to clean up any snags and tangles formed when the ropes dropped. Pay close attention to obstacles and try to avoid chimneys and gullies where your rope could get wedged. Always make sure the tails stay below you; it‟s an epic waiting to happen if they get jammed above your position. It‟s important to have a system to free both hands mid-rappel should you need them to unsnag ropes or fiddle with knots. The simplest method is wrapping the rope around your leg three times. Luke Laeser is Climbing‟s production coordinator/web producer, the author of many first ascents, and a veteran bailer. Bailing the smart and safe way.

Tech Tip - Trad - Wide-hands crack technique By Tony Jewell Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Proper corner-climbing technique. When I first learned to crack climb, I loved tight hand cracks. But when things got a little wider — around three inches — my spirit sank, and all my strength suddenly drained from my body. As I continued my Indian Creek apprenticeship, I began to figure out the dreaded “cups” size. I was finally able to succeed, and even feel a sense of mastery, on such wide-hands climbs as 3 a.m. Crack,

Supercrack,

and

the

über-classic,

overhanging Think Pink. The sequence goes like this: Slide your top hand up (thumb down) with your elbow out, and then cup and twist, bringing your elbow down to set your jam. Now slide up your bottom hand (thumb up), about six to 12 inches below your top hand, cup, twist, and then move your elbow downwards across your body to set your lower jam. Now decide which foot to move up — you can shuffle or cross your feet — and bring that knee out to the side (this will help release the foot and set it in the correct orientation for the next jam). Move this foot up and replace it in the crack with your bigtoe side up, then rotate your knee over so it‟s in line with the crack to reset your jam. Repeat with the other foot, and start the sequence over. Lead hand. In general, if the crack veers to the

left, you‟ll want to lead with your left hand, and vice versa. In a corner, it‟s usually best to lead with the hand and arm that matches the flat wall of the corner (as opposed to the side of the corner that has an edge — see illustration). This allows you to put both arms into the crack all the way up to your elbows, if needed, for maximum security. You‟ll notice that the more you sink your arms into the crack, the more your upper body will torque to the side of your lower arm. You won‟t be looking directly into the crack, but that‟s OK. Feeling your jams is what‟s important. Gearing up. Avoid the temptation to place gear as high as you can reach. Get as solid a jam as possible with your top hand, then place your gear a few inches below your jam or at waist level, depending on how secure you feel and the amount of rope drag you‟re experiencing. Once you have your pro in, relax a little, and even pull one of your hands out of the crack to shake out. Then, as you move past your pro, be careful not to bump or disrupt it with your other hand or feet. In a corner, make sure you rack up with all your gear on the side that‟s not rubbing against the wall. Twister. Like most climbers, I cupped my hands in wide cracks, but this was often insecure and painful. I finally realized that it‟s better to cup and twist (a good tape job helps with this). Cup your hand with your fingers straight, tips pointing into the crack. Then twist towards your pinky (clockwise for your right hand, counterclockwise for your left, regardless of whether your hand is thumb up or thumb down in the crack). When you get it right, you‟ll feel the edge of your palm (below your pinky) pushing against on one side of the crack, and the back of your hand (below your index-finger knuckle) contacting the other side of the wall. This creates a torque effect, which, with practice, can feel nearly as secure as a snug hand jam.

The top-hand cup-and-twister Facing thumbs. Another important point is to orient your hands so that your thumbs face each other, i.e., top hand thumbs down, bottom hand thumbs up. You‟ll want to shuffle your jams upward without taking them out of the crack so that one hand is always leading above the other, rather than pulling your lower hand out and crossing over. This greatly increases security, as you‟ll always have both hands in the crack. How deep you place your hands depends on feel (look for useful constrictions or pockets inside the crack), but generally, placing your forearm over halfway in is good.

Tech Tip - Sport - The matter at length. By Rebecca Stokes Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Several summers ago, I went climbing at Maple Canyon, Utah, with a Quebecois named Sue. After a morning of climbing, I had picked up her Canadian colloquialisms. By three in the afternoon we were spent, so I asked, “Do you want to see the Pipe Dream Cave, eh?” She replied, “Yah sure, eh, that sounds good.” We hiked up to the cave and watched a few climbers attempting the vicious ceiling routes. As one of the climbers pulled over the roof, I noticed he had clipped a 24-inch draw to the bolt just under the overhang. I thought about the physics, but before I remembered why I hated math, Sue pointed at the long draw, “Smart, eh, so he won‟t hit his head on the roof.” I took the note to heart. As sport climbers, we deal with draws that are usually between four-inches and six-inches long. A sportie using a long trad draw is considered old school. However, it‟s the smart sportie who carries at least two longer draws, and has two draws equipped with lockers, to compensate for odd rock formations, poor bolting, and large roofs. There are several other circumstances that also suggest going old school: How to rig the trick-triple runner? The wandering bolt line. One of the biggest reasons to use a longer draw is off-route bolting, which can cause rope drag. Some bolts are drilled off to the side, or situated in a recessed area, due to poor rock quality or just plain bad drilling. Rope drag isn‟t fun for a leader pulling sketchy moves, and her discomfort may in turn affect her belayer in the form of accusations about poor belaying skills. A longer draw can re-orient the rope so that it parallels the route‟s natural line, and lessens the friction between everyone. Anchors. Often you can‟t see your anchor scenario until you reach the chains. Sometimes they‟re not set 12 inches apart and drilled into pristine limestone. One bolt might be 10 inches

higher than the other, or set wide apart from its companion. Having the ability to equalize the points with a longer draw will make you breath easier on the descent. Roofs and caves. A longer draw placed under a roof can decrease rope drag by moving the rope further from the wall and lessening the angle in which it passes by the lip of the roof. On long ceilings when short draws are employed and you attempt the roof and fail, the little draw can stop you short, causing an unpleasant roof-to-head merger. Pairing longer draws on the roof section, with a dynamic belay will give you clearance time and no bell ringing. Working a project. Another place to use a longer draw is when you‟re working a route. Perhaps there‟s a particular bolt that‟s just a little too far above its predessor, and is disturbing your peace of mind. By extending the draw, you can clip from a lower stance, and climb on with confidence. Safety first. If you‟re working a route with horns, pockets, or edges that could open or break the rope biner, employing a longer draw is a sure-fire trad solution. Trad up your sport rack. For trad climbers, 24-inch slings are treasured jewels, and are preferably made out of

Dyneema

or

Spectra.

“Trick-triple” a sling, and you have

an

eight-inch

draw;

double loop it for a 12-inch runner. To trick triple, pass Biner A through Biner B, and then clip Biner A to all the strands of webbing between the two biners. To double loop, simply clip both ends of a runner to the same biner,

and clip the second biner to either of the same two strands. It‟s simple to do, and a trick-triple can easily be concealed in your sport rack as a normal, but way smarter, draw. Carrying a couple of locking draws is an excellent safety bonus. These draws can be used on the first clip for extra security. Locking draws are also perfect at the anchors to assure safety, especially when setting up a top rope. A final note on anchors: Make sure that the rope biners are opposed, with their gates facing outwards. You can never be too careful, eh?

Tech Tip - Alpine - Difficulties with diesel. By Molly Loomis Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Your

long-awaited

overseas

climbing trip is just a few days away.

You‟ve

packed

everything, but what fuel will you use? Clean, easy-to-burn white gas is your best option, but in many parts of the world the creme of the crop isn‟t available. Oftentimes, stoves must suffice on the grimiest fuel

of

all:

diesel.

Be

Winning the battle with diesel grime build-up

forewarned! Because of diesel‟s high ignition point, and its dirty nature (diesel is a low-grade fuel that, due to limited rounds through the refining process, retains many of its impurities), it‟s a pain to use. Not only does it stink and produce a thick black soot — which inevitably ends up all over you and your clothes — it‟s difficult to light, cooks inefficiently, and clogs a stove in no time at all. But sometimes it‟s all you‟ve got. Here are some tips to help get the job done in a quicker and cleaner fashion — the only extra gear that you‟ll need to pack is a dedicated diesel-collection pot. Propaganda.

Despite

what

gear

company reps may profess, diesel doesn‟t burn as efficiently as white gas. Calculate your fuel needs as if you were going to use white gas, and then multiply that number by approximately 1.33 for a fair estimation of the amount of

diesel

you‟ll

need.

Whenever

possible, try and use JP8 diesel (it

The “super-flush” solution

burns cleaner), and if you‟re using a MSR Wisperlite International, swap out your usual shaker jet for the included “K” jet, which has a slightly larger fuel hole, and is less prone to clogging. Filtration. Pour your diesel through a small, tightly woven wire screen (available at a hardware store), or cheesecloth to filter out bits of junk that are undoubtedly in the mix, especially in developing nations. All these small particles add up, clogging your fuel line and your fuel jet. Use your dedicated-diesel pot to collect the excess fuel. Distance matters. Bring along long-stem matches or an “extendo neck” grill lighter to light your stove. Since diesel has a high ignition point, your flame (e.g. a lighter or matches) must be held to the primer fuel longer than with white gas — oftentimes long enough to singe or burn your fingers. These long-stem options will save your fingertips for climbing. Choose wisely. Examine the position of your stove‟s spirit cup (the dish where you leak fuel to prime the stove). Again, due to diesel‟s high ignition point, using a stove with an easily accessible spirit cup makes a big difference when priming. One easy trick is to cut a narrow strip of cloth from a bandana, soak an end in a fuel bottle, pull out the strip and tear off the saturated section, then place part of the strip in the already-filled spirit cup. Use the bandana strip like a wick to provide better lighting accessibility. Store the excess material in your stove bag. Whistle clean. Clean your stove once a day. Although this may sound excessive, when you‟re cooking with dirty fuel this discipline makes a huge difference. After each use, pop out the jet (and shaker needle if applicable) and soak it in a small diesel-filled container. The diesel acts as a solvent and breaks down the carbon build-up, which creates clogs. Make sure that the pinsized hole in the jet is clean — a sewing needle is a good probing tool for this mission. Every few days do a more thorough cleaning job using a Brillo pad scrap, scrubbing the spirit cup, fuel line, and spreader rings. Ditch the needle. If you‟re still having problems and have followed all of the above Beta, ditch your shaker needle. The fuel maybe so contaminated that it can‟t flow past the shaker needle, or through the pinpoint hole in the jet.

Super flush. This three-part process purges your stove of all its grime. Remove the spirit cup, pop out the generator from the stove body, pull out the wire in the fuel line (jam it back and forth a few times to loosen up any gunk first), and remove the jet and shaker needle, taking care to not lose them. Now, reattach the stove to the fuel bottle as you normally would, and turn it on at normal flow allowing fuel to leak through the dismantled stove — this flow removes debris otherwise difficult to clean. Continue leaking fuel until it flows unobstructed, using your dedicated pot to collect the excess diesel. Now reinsert the wire that runs through the fuel line and repeat the process of leaking fuel until the system flows. Repeat the process again and again reinserting the jet, then the shaker needle. Your stove has now been purged! Don‟t forget! Pack the spare parts! Bring along the manufacturer‟s recommended repair kit and then some. Imagine if you were to lose any of the repair kit or spare parts — would you be able to make do? Several extra jets, shaker jets, bailing wire, and even an extra generator (for MSR Whisperlites) are indispensable.

Tech Tip - Sport - Resting ... the strategic way By Katie Brown Illustration by Mike Clelland Rest. How long, how much, how often — everyone has an opinion. To a climber with a strict training background, to whom more than one rest day is nearly unthinkable, three rest days could seem counter productive. In my younger, slightly obsessive days, I would stress out, en route to a comp, because my travel schedule was forcing me to take three days off, and making me weaker as a result. As I‟ve grown older, however, I‟ve realized that the forced rest was, in fact, probably saving me from injury. I was continually overtrained, and resting was what my body desperately needed, despite what my head was telling me. Power resting at its finest Although often overlooked, rest is quite possibly the most important aspect of any training program. This isn‟t to say that you shouldn‟t train hard. Rather, it‟s absolutely beneficial to train as hard as you possibly can, but only if it‟s countered by sufficient amounts of quality recovery time. Your body is temporarily weakened after a period of rigorous training. It reacts to this weakened state by rebuilding itself in order to better execute its designated task the next time. This adaptive reaction to training is called supercompensation. The trick, then, is learning how much rest your body needs to achieve supercompensation. If you climb again before reaching that point, you won‟t be able to access all the benefits of your earlier training session. If you climb again at the exact point of recovery — your pre-training strength and performance level — your strength will plateau. You must rest long enough to let your muscles rebuild beyond their previous state — hence supercompensation. Quantity. So how much rest is enough? There‟s no cut-and-dried answer — the solution largely depends on the type and amount of training you‟re doing. Experts typically recommend resting anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. For example, if you take a friend climbing who is new to the sport, and you do a dozen pitches that are well below your ability level, then it will probably only take a day to recover. If you climb at a new area on several routes at your limit, however, and you try to redpoint them all in a day, it might take three or more days to fully recover.

Recovery. In general there are three major recovery periods that the body goes through on its road to supercompensation. The first recovery period extends from 10 seconds to 30 minutes after a workout — roughly the amount of time that you typically spend resting between routes during a cragging day. Next is the fuel recovery period, which takes place 30 minutes to 24 hours after exercise, with the majority of your refueling taking place in the first 16 hours. That average 16-hour break between consecutive climbing days will allow your body to recover to only about 80 percent of its pretraining capacity. DOMS. It‟s during the third recovery period that you attain strength gains. If you‟ve ever been sorer on your second rest day than on your first, you know what I‟m talking about. This is called Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. During strenuous exercise your muscle fibers are microscopically damaged. The amount of DOMS that you experience is equal to the amount of damage your muscles have experienced. If the DOMS is only minor, it can fade within 48 hours. If you have greater soreness, however, it‟s possible that it will take four or more days for your muscle fibers to repair themselves. Should that be the case, be sure to give your body enough time to properly mend itself before training again. A retired professional cyclist friend of mine sums it up well: “You should always feel one step behind.” By this, he means that you should always be eager and energetic for your next workout. If you‟re dragging your feet, feeling lackluster, and finding that your performance is suffering, your body is telling you it needs more rest. In addition to heeding your body‟s noticeable rest requirements, take the occasional extended rest period. Break up your climbing routine with stretches of recovery training (e.g., running, skipping rope, swimming, biking), and don‟t be afraid to take a week off. Remember, it‟s actually during rest periods that strength improvements are realized, not during your training sessions. If you take care of yourself while resting — eating healthy, drinking plenty of water, sleeping, and relaxing — it will take less time to recover, enabling you to train better, and climb harder. Suggested further reading: Neil Gresham‟s Training Tips, www.planetfear.com Training for Climbing, Eric J. Hörst Performance Rock Climbing, Dale Goddard and Udo Newman

Tech Tip - Aid - Taming dicey aid By Dave Sheldon Illustration by Mike Clelland

Taking the teeth out of a sketchy aid lead. Sketchy aid climbing can be a brain-numbing, adrenal-gland-tapping affair, especially when the consequence of falling is a monster whip or a trauma-inducing impact. Despite the notion that honed aid artistes keep company with the Grim Reaper, and head up onto horror-show leads with a blasé attitude; most experienced wall climbers employ a few tricks to keep themselves from visiting the dark side. Stack the odds. Wear a helmet. Folks have been maimed by slipping out of their aiders and flipping upside down on clean A1. Now imagine what your noggin might collide with during a lengthier fall ... yikes. Fingerless gloves are another great idea, as are eye protection and supportive, aider-friendly shoes. Clip the iron. If you‟re carrying a hammer, clip it into your harness when you‟re not using it — an iceclimbing clipper biner works great for this task. During rapid descents, that hunk of steel can do some serious damage when it‟s dangling on its leash. (Hooking, bounce testing, and free climbing are three prime instances when a fall is possible and pounding pins isn‟t necessary.). Light is right. Eyeball your pitch from the belay, and only take the gear you need to climb the first twenty or so feet. Paring down the rack can easily cut 10 to 15 pounds — this weight reduction just might be enough to keep that number-one head or tipped-out TCU from ripping. When more gear or a specific piece is required, the belayer can send it up. Another weight-reduction strategy is to use an 8.5- or 9-millimeter dynamic tag line. When the leader hits the belay, she can pull up one end of the static haul line, along with the jugs, hauler, cordelette, locking biners, and any other gear she needs to set up the anchor and hoist the pig. Attention. Keep your belayer aware and ready. Make sure she is positioned near the anchor‟s hard point, with her brake hand securely gripping the rope. It‟s

disconcerting to look down and see your buddy stretched out and half asleep on the portaledge when you‟re strung out above multiple copperheads. One strategy is to frequently request gear to be zipped up, forcing your belayer to be more interactive, and thus more attentive. If the leader is a heavyweight, the belayer may wish to anchor in with a directional to keep from kissing the rock should her fallmanagement skills be tested. Limit your loads. Carry a few load-limiting quickdraws. Several companies make these nifty draws, but Yates has cornered the market with aid-specific load-limiters. When hit with a fall, their specially designed bar-tacks rip sequentially, absorbing some of the impact‟s energy. Load limiters also increase the time over which force is transmitted to a fall-arresting piece, allowing the rope to dissipate more energy than normal. Clipping load-limiters to micro-nuts or tied-off knifeblades might give the suspect gear a fighting chance if fallen on. Old rusty bolts and rivets are another great place to hang these shock-absorbing beauties. Buckle up. Clip your double-sided gear sling into your harness. Every now and then, an unlucky soul has his or her rack stripped from their body when they come to a screeching, upside-down halt at the end of a cartwheeling whip. This unfortunate scenario may leave the party in a very serious position, as rapping off or climbing upwards without the lost equipment may be impossible. Also, using a fullstrength chest harness with double-sided gear slings is a good idea for a lot of aid routes. Last resort. By using a skinny dynamic zip line, you have the option of a second lead line should you encounter an extremely hazardous, rope-cutting scenario. The leader can retie his zip line into his harness‟ hard points, clip the zip line into the last solid piece of gear, and yell down to his belayer to put him on belay with both the lead and zip lines. The leader must remember, however, to lower down and unclip the zip line from the protection after climbing past the rope-cutting section — otherwise, pulling up the haul line at the end of the pitch will be impossible. If you ever find yourself in a situation where this technique may be needed, weigh all of your options and proceed with extreme caution.

Tech Tip - Safety - Old rope safety - the rug By Jeff Achey Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Breathing new life into an old friend is easy — just a little caulk, duct tape, and you‟re golden. I

become

dangerously

attached to my old ropes. I use them until they have the nap of an old blanket and the hue of a faded pair of jeans. When I get a new rope, I‟ll still keep breaking out the old one when I‟m in need of the mountain karma of my youth, or a whiff of the lichens of yore. After a few dozen years climbing I accumulated a collection of old cords that was a menace to my friends. When I pulled one out of the pack for its annual run up memory lane, my partner would claim to have forgotten his harness and suggested a day of bouldering. Fortunately, before my nostalgia actually injured anyone, I discovered rope rugs. Finally, a way to stay near the old Kernmantle Conquistadors without freaking out my friends. I was sure I‟d heard about beautiful rope rugs being patiently stitched — probably by winter lamplight in a yurt above Telluride — but after spending half an hour trying to make three stitches, I decided that fine textile work wasn‟t my calling. I consulted the muses — and the hardware store — and stumbled upon a technique much more my style. Here‟s how to make a rope rug with less than an hour‟s work. Materials: l One or more old rope(s) l A few feet of strong nylon thread and a stout, curved needle l Silicone caulk and a caulk gun l Duct tape

For the basic, one-rope rug, loosely flake out the rope near a hard, flat surface in an area that you can spare for a few hours, and can keep free from pets or roommates. If your rope spent its life sport climbing in dusty caves, wash it first; if it lived high on clean, granite walls, you may be able to use it as is. Starting with the tightest spiral of rope you can make, wind the entire rope into a circle. Firmly lay the rope against itself, but not so tight as to squeeze the strands. You can keep the crucial inner coil tight against itself with a single stitch of thread, or simply pin it in place with a hatpin. Finish the end of the spiral with another stitch. If you desire a completely smooth outer profile to your rug, rather than a protruding rope end, you can cut the rope end on a long diagonal and meld it to the coil. Now, coat the entire top face of the rope coil with caulk to bind the rope-rug strands together. One tube per rope is the minimum — two tubes per rope is better. Let the caulk dry. This the most time-consuming part of the rugmaking. Head out for an evening ski or a session in the gym, or better yet, let the project sit overnight. Next, cover the caulked face with duct tape. Try first laying three or four cross strips, then taping the entire bottom perpendicular to the strips, overlapping generously. (This was my trial-and-error solution to the problem of the tape separating when I rolled my first rugs.) Trim the tape edges with scissors so they match the circular footprint of the rug. Voila! Flip it over and say hello to your colorful new fireside companion or doormat. You can make the rug ovalshaped by beginning with a flat bight of rope; the longer the loop, the more oblong the rug. You can make a bigger and multi-colored rug by adding a second (and third) rope to the spiral by simply butting the ends and maybe adding a stitch or two at the joint. For a fancier pattern you can wind two or three ropes simultaneously, but this technique has hidden difficulties that become apparent as you begin winding. If your rope sense and foresight are as poor as mine, you‟ll create a formidable Gordian knot. (Hint: start with each rope flaked into a rope bag.) That‟s it. Now your friends can share in your fondness for old ropes without risking their lives. Jeff Achey is the Editor-at-Large of Climbing. He is also a closet craftsman when he‟s not putting up obscure death routes in Glenwood Canyon.

Tech Tip -Trad - Can You Hear Me Now? By Julie Seyfert Lillis Illustrations by Mike Clelland

A belayer putting the “M System” to good use to ensure proper communication between climbers Get out your copy of Freedom of the Hills. There‟s a command that‟s heard often enough at crags nationwide to deserve a spot

on

the

list

of

common

rope

commands: “F-ing slack!” Its proliferation could be blamed on R-rated movies, or single mothers, but more likely, it‟s that lead climbers aren‟t taking care to choose a belay spot that allows them to remain in easy communication with their seconds. Leaders often fail to realize how features such as roofs and slabby top-outs can make communication difficult to impossible. Unless you‟ve run out of lead rope, the solution is tied to your waist. Use your remaining rope to extend your position close enough to the edge so you can hear — and hopefully see — your partner. There are a lot of rope tricks for this. Here are a few: The “M” System l Clip the rope through the biners at your anchor, but don‟t make a hard attachment (e.g., a figure-8 on a bight or a clove hitch). Then, clove hitch the second‟s end of the rope to a locking biner clipped to your belay loop (making a giant, closed-circuit rope runner out of your lead rope) and feed yourself slack as you walk back to the best belay spot. Alternatively you can have your second keep you on belay while you get into position — you can clove in once you get situated. l Use the rope to redirect. Tie a figure-8 on a bight (or better yet, a butterfly knot) on one side of your rope runner at least six or seven feet from your intended belay stance, and clip a locker to it. After pulling up all the rope leading down to your second, clip it through the locker at the redirect, and walk back to your stance — you will need to readjust your clove hitch, as tying your redirect knot shortens the length of your rope loop. Rig the rope leading to your partner

through your belay device, clip it to your belay loop, and call “on belay.” Your anchor is now dynamic. If your partner weights the system, with rope stretch, the distance between you and the redirect biner shrinks. Plus, if you‟re a lightweight you might be pulled towards the redirect in the event of a fall. It‟s possible that your belay device could bind with the redirect biner. To ensure that this doesn‟t happen, position yourself far enough away from the redirect point so that it can‟t interfere with your belay. Also, clipping into a solid opposing piece at your stance will prevent you from being yanked towards the redirect. l As always, position yourself directly in line with your last piece of gear on the climb. There is potential for movement with this system, and you might get pulled should your partner fall. This might cause you to lose your stance and possibly make you let go of the rope, but a solid opposing piece nearby will prevent this from happening. If you can‟t get gear near your belay spot, or if you weigh significantly less than your partner and can‟t efficiently counter balance this weight difference, or if the anchor is at or below your waist level, you‟re better off not redirecting. “M” system without the redirect l Follow the first point of the above tip. When you position yourself at your desired belay stance, clove in with a locker clipped to the loop of rope at your waist created by your tie-in figure-8 knot. l Next, clip your belay device to your belay loop, pull up all the rope leading down to your second, rig your belay device, and yell down that your partner is on belay. In a fall, your partner‟s weight will be almost entirely on the anchor, and not on your harness. By adjusting your stance and body position, you can affect how much of the weight you feel, and how much is on your anchor. Using the rope to attach yourself to the anchor has advantages. It‟s got a core, so it‟s more resistant to abrasion, and it can be any length you want it to be — as long as you‟re not at the end of your rope. To keep your second from being at end of his, position yourself back at the edge. The view is better, and so are the prospects for partnering up with this person again. Julie Seyfert Lillis has guided in the Gunks since 1996. She is a frequent contributor of writing and photography to Climbing.

Tech Tip - Sport - Core Strength That Counts By Eric J. Hörst Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Talking about the importance of “core strength” is in vogue these days, yet many climbers are uncertain just how the core muscles — the muscles located between your shoulders and pelvis — affect climbing performance and, furthermore, how they are best trained. Regardless of ability, climbers making their initial forays onto very

The front lever

steep terrain commonly find positive, juggy handholds harder and pumpier to use than they expected. Similarly, moves that appeared (from ground perspective) to be casual often feel surprisingly long and difficult. Sound familiar? The cause of these difficulties often lies in a complex blend of poor technique, and insufficient strength in both the upper body muscles and, less apparent, the torso‟s core muscles. In climbing vertical-to-overhanging rock, the muscles surrounding your torso play a key role in enabling your arms and legs to maximize leverage and transfer torque from hand to foot (and vice versa). All the fundamental steep-rock techniques such as flagging, dynoing and deadpointing, backstepping, and twist-locking bring these core muscles into play. Next time you execute one of these moves, notice the muscular tension that develops throughout your torso — it‟s your core muscles at work. So what‟s the best method of training these muscles? Sit-ups are the obvious choice, but the limited motion of this exercise targets only a small selection and range of your core muscles. Other popular options are yoga and Pilates classes, which bring all the torso muscles into play. Unfortunately, the rigors of these classes — while excellent for developing body awareness, flexibility, and general conditioning — fail to develop a high level of climbing-specific core strength. While I don‟t discourage climbers from yoga and Pilates, I do advocate supplemental core training that positions the body — and activates the core muscles — in more climbingspecific ways. The following three exercises will develop core strength that counts:

The body curl. This exercise works the upper and lower abdominals, as well as the hip flexor muscles used in highstepping. While hanging straight-armed from a pull-up bar (or the largest holds on a hangboard), lift your knees to your chest, and then continue your upward motion until your knees pass between your arms. Strive for a slow, controlled motion throughout, especially while lowering your legs. Do six to 12 reps, then rest a few minutes and perform a second set. Steep wall traversing. Perform 10-to-20-move traverses on a steep wall (30 to 45 degrees past vert is optimal), using well-spaced handholds and footholds. Use the larger holds on the wall (you aren‟t training finger strength) and strive for “stretched-out” positions, which force you to draw your torso close to the wall, either straight on or with a hip turn or twist-lock. Keep moving sideways in this stretched-out traverse — you‟ll quickly feel your core muscles coming into play as you strain to prevent your body from sagging away from the wall. Keep moving for 15 to 20 moves, then rest for a few minutes and repeat two more times. Adjust the

The body curl.

difficulty of the traverse by using holds that are closer (easier) or farther apart. The front lever. Introduced to climbing by the legendary John Gill, the front lever is the gold standard of core-muscle strength. Since front levers recruit all the core muscles in a highly specific way, expect this exercise to be difficult and possibly a bit demoralizing (most climbers can‟t do a front lever). Begin by hanging straight-armed from a bar or a set of Rock Rings. (Rock Rings are ideal, because they draw more of the upper-torso and shoulder muscles into play.) Pull up halfway, then push your hands forward, drop your head backwards, and lift your legs. Do all this in a single quick motion and attempt to position your entire body — head to toe — parallel to the ground. Squeeze tightly throughout your torso, buttocks, and legs, and attempt to hold this position for three seconds. It helps to think about pushing your hands towards your hips, even

though you‟ll be in a stationary position. You can make front levers easier by simply bending one leg, or by having a spotter hold your feet. The goal is to hold the lever for three seconds, slowly lower to a hanging position, then immediately pull back into a front lever for another three seconds. Strive for three consecutive levers, then rest for a few minutes and perform one more set. It‟s important to note that levers place a great deal of stress on your shoulders and elbows (just like steep climbing), so they are inappropriate for novice or out-of-shape climbers.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Snowshoeing for Climbers By Bill Forrest Illustrations by Mike Clelland

During the 1992-1993 winter, while training for a spring attempt on Everest‟s north side, I climbed a Colorado Fourteener every weekend. I sought fullon winter conditions, and the Colorado mountains didn‟t disappoint. My approaches often required the use of skis or snowshoes.

Always

curious

about

gear,

I

borrowed a pair of “shorty” snowshoes and gave them a go. They were definitely more versatile and manageable than skis, but their tubular frames were slippery on hardpack, they didn‟t traverse worth a hoot, and their aluminum crampons wore out quickly. I set about inventing a better design, which I sold to a leading outdoor equipment manufacturer. With today‟s technically advanced snowshoes and lightweight, fast-drying winter garments, snowshoeing has become a mainstream winter activity. It also has much to offer climbers. Applications. When should a climber use snowshoes? • To avoid post-holing • To approach or retreat from ice and alpine climbs • To ascend or descend non-technical mountaineering routes • For winter approaches that are difficult to ski — narrow and steep with lots of switchbacks, trees, and brush • For skiable approaches/retreats if you‟re a lousy skier — snowshoes will get you there and back without dangerous crashes • For training — aerobic/endurance/winter adaptation Don‟t use snowshoes if the terrain ahead looks dicey, where a slip or fall could cause serious injury or death. To prepare for such conditions, take off your snowshoes, put on your crampons, and get out your ice tools.

Selections. The best snowshoe is the smallest and lightest model that will effectively handle the snow conditions you‟ll

encounter.

Smaller,

lighter

snowshoes are more maneuverable and less tiring than larger, heavier ones, but snow conditions rule. Don‟t be misled by the convention that says the size of

Modular extension tails offer flotation options.

your snowshoe is directly related to your total weight (body weight plus clothing and pack). Using total body weight as a criterion for selection is only valid if you‟ll be breaking a lot of trail. Serious trail breaking requires a larger snowshoe — 8 x 25-to 9 x 30-inch. But, if you‟ll often be on packed trails, where traction is your main concern, a pair of 8 x 22-inch shoes will suffice, regardless of your total weight. The must-have features of a climber‟s snowshoe are: • Excellent traction. The best snowshoe traction is provided by vertically oriented metal traction blades that run the length of the snowshoe‟s underside • Steel crampons that rotate on a door-type hinge • Waterproof and durable materials • A binding that is fiddle free, fits well, and stays on all day without adjustment • Light weight Other desirable features: • Women-specific models to accommodate a female‟s stride • Modular extension tails that give several flotation options • A wire-bail heel lift to reduce calf strain on uphill approaches Technique. Snowshoeing is simply walking, but even a small (8 x 22-inch) snowshoe will increase your underfoot bearing surface by over 300 percent. This extra surface area can cause tripping. Pick up your feet a little higher than usual, establish a rhythmic high-stepping stride, and you‟ll be fine. Adjustable-length ski poles help you balance, recover from a fall, and probe the terrain ahead. Also, you can use their steel tips to stab into lake ice should you break through (or keep your ice tools handy for better results).

As with crampons, adjust your snowshoe boot-to-binding fit before going into the field. Work out the techniques to firmly and quickly put on your snowshoes. When I put mine on, I keep the heel-strap buckle on the inside of my boot. This puts me in the strongest position to tighten the heel strap. Kneeling on one knee, I fasten the front straps, and then grasp the heel strap with both hands and crank it firmly. When headed up a long, somewhat steep slope contouring or zigzagging, rather than attacking straight on, works best. If your snowshoes have traction blades, the technique for going up a short steep section is to walk “toe out,” putting your blades at an angle to your direction of travel. If you have tubular-frame snowshoes, the steep-uphill technique in soft snow is to stomp steps. On hard-packed surfaces, tubular-framed snowshoes simply don‟t have as much traction as snowshoes with traction blades — whether going up, down, or traversing. When you‟re going down a steep descent it‟s best to seek soft, unconsolidated snow, as this gives you control. If you must descend a steep icy section, be prepared to sidestep, making sure to plant each step firmly — just like climbing with crampons. Bill

Forrest,

former

owner

of

Forrest

Mountaineering, is a prolific big-wall first ascentionist and a renowned outdoor equipment inventor. One of his articles appeared in the first issue of Climbing.

Tech Tip -Trad - Making the Call By David Schmidt Illustration by Mike Clelland

Deciding when to retire gear is tough. Losing half your rack to an unplanned escape is one thing, but decommissioning gear is quite another. According to several mechanical engineers, climbing hardware (biners, cams, nuts) is almost always safe unless it displays obvious faults such as cracks, deep gouges, or doesn‟t function smoothly. The following tips can serve as parameters for when to retire your gear, but as with all things climbing, use good judgment — if you doubt a piece, replace it. Thoroughly inspect your entire rack once or twice a year; it‟s better to shell out than to be run out above gear you wished you‟d replaced. Ropes. Ropes represent a critical single point of failure (a non-redundant aspect of the system, e.g. a belay biner or a belay device), so special attention is warranted. One common sign of wear is for a rope to lose its elasticity — and thus its ability to absorb fall forces — and become stiff. Falling onto a stiff rope means higher forces are generated on the system, a situation that contributes to gear shearing, pulling, or breaking, especially small or marginal trad gear, or ice screws. Stiff ropes also make for a harsher catch for the belayer, who could possibly lose braking control. To inspect your cord, run it through your fingers feeling for “flat spots” (places where the inner fibers have deformed from repeated or high-fall-factor falls), “core shots” (nicks in the sheath that expose the core), and overall stiffness. If you discover any of these, replace your cord. A reasonable estimate of when to retire your rope is after three years of weekend use, or

one year of extended use. Be advised that ropes lose their elasticity even just sitting around, so ropes older than five or six years aren‟t suitable for lead climbing. Software. Quickdraws and slings (both nylon and Spectra) are uber strong, but any nicks, runs, or frays greatly reduces their tensile strength. If you think your software (including ropes and harnesses) has been exposed to solvents, bleach, acids, too many UV rays, or harmful vapors, replace it. Manufacturers recommend replacing nylon products every five years, and Spectra every three. Harnesses. Harnesses are made from super-durable nylon, but some areas wear faster than others. The most obvious wear spots are the tie-in points. Inspect these regularly to ensure that rope friction hasn‟t sawed through the protective nylon sheath, or worse, into the structural webbing itself. Also inspect the waist-belt webbing where it passes through the buckle, and the belay donut. Fuzz is OK, but if the fibers are cut, the strength of the webbing is greatly diminished. If there is visible wear in any of these places, buy a new rig. Biners. Biners are only strong if the lock mechanism (either a pin-in-notch or a keylock) engages the gate with the rest of the body. A carabiner‟s open-gate strength is only a fraction of its normal capacity. If a biner doesn‟t shut soundly after a clip, clean it; if that doesn‟t work, chuck it. If there are any visible cracks, chips, or if rope friction has worn down the basket, discard the unit. It‟s normal for the bolt-end biner to display impact marks — make sure you use dedicated boltend biners so that your rope doesn‟t get pulled taut over sharp spots that can potentially harm your cord. When the nicks become gouges, replace the biner. Nuts. Take a few good falls onto a nut placed in a horizontal and the cable will likely fray. After a good whipper, inspect the nut to make sure there aren‟t any sharp burrs or frays in the non-weight-bearing ends of the wires that could tangle or damage your runners or draws — remove these burrs with a standard file or nail clippers. If there are frays or burrs in the weight-bearing wires, replace the nut. In the case of micro-nuts, especially the silver-soldered variety, bent or damaged wires at the head (from falls or aggressive cleaning) are common, and are grounds for immediate retirement. Cams. Any bend in a cam‟s axle compromises the unit‟s strength, even if the spring and trigger actions are still smooth. Regularly inspect your cams to make sure the axles are in good

condition. As with biner gates, it‟s essential that a cam‟s springs work well enough to hold the unit in place until the cam is weighted. If the springs are sticky, give the device a good cleaning. Cam lobes slightly deform where the metal touches the rock during a fall. Small dents and deformations are fine, but any significant deformation can prevent a cam from rolling smoothly when loading. In this case, replace the unit. Most cam manufacturers will replace the slings for a reasonable fee, as will several thirdparty stitching services — follow the same guidelines for these slings as you would other “software”. Belay devices. Belay devices are another important single point of failure, and should be inspected regularly. Tube-style devices commonly wear where the rope enters the unit from lowering and rappelling, creating a sharp edge. Grigri also requires periodic cleaning and inspection to ensure that the rope hasn‟t worn out the curved lowering edge or the stopping plate. If you notice a deeply worn groove or sharp edge on your belay device, replace it immediately. Helmets. Helmets can crack just from rough handling or from being dropped inside a pack, let alone from severe direct impacts. Manufacturers recommend replacing helmets every three to five years of normal use, but if your helmet takes a solid hit, or shows signs of cracking or age, pony up and replace your lid. The contents inside are worth far more than a new model. This Tech Tip was written with expert consultation from Tom Jones, M.E.

Tech Tip - Ice - Use your head ... and your feet By David Roetzel Illustration by Mike Clelland

Regardless of how much better ice-climbing equipment gets — better tools, easier-to-place screws, heel spurs, or better clothing — ice climbing has a different learning curve than rock, and, in general, it‟s best not to fall off. Trial, error, and experience are the keys to improvement. Here are a few tips to help you along the curve. Tip your lid, you‟ll be glad you did. Dodging dinner plates of ice is a dangerous part of ice climbing. Like any dodge game, you‟re bound to take some hits, but where you take your lumps is the real concern. Use your helmet for what it was designed for — taking impacts. To be combat ready, your helmet‟s front brim should be positioned just above your eyebrows and securely positioned on your head. Always be alert for the sights and sounds of ice breaking loose — these are your best warnings that you‟re about to contend with falling ice. Next time you‟re swinging and a piece of ice comes loose, tilt your head down and slightly towards the arm that‟s swinging. If done properly, the brim of your helmet should end up just lower than your eye‟s horizontal plane. This is a subtle movement — tips your head too far forward and you expose your cervical spine; tip it too little and the ice might hit your face. Looking up with your eyes while maintaining the tippedbrim position allows you to see, and keeps you protected. Perpendicular and flat make crampon placements fat. Unlike in rock climbing where we often stand on our tip-toes, sound crampon placements result from keeping your feet flat so your crampons remain horizontal. Standing on your toes brings your heels up, forcing your front

points down, possibly causing them to sheer. To avoid the whip, keep your heels level with, or, lower than, your front points. This angle of attack provides the most secure crampon placement, and brings your secondary points closer to the ice. This is obvious when you‟re kicking straight in front of you, but what happens when you need to kick out to either side? More often than not, kicking to the side leaves your inside points touching and the outside points barely contacting ice. To counter this, move your heel away from your body by rotating the top of your leg inside your hip‟s ball-and-socket joint. Your foot and front points should now be perpendicular to the ice. As you kick, remember to keep your toes up and your heel low, allowing both the front points and the secondary points to hit the ice. Kicking with a stiffy to clear a bulge. Clearing an ice bulge can be difficult. Kicking in the typical manner (where your knee joint acts as a hinge) almost always leaves your front points pointing downwards, not straight in. Rather than using your knee like a hinge, gently lock it, lift the front of your crampons up and swing your leg from the hip. Ideally, your knee remains stiff throughout the motion, keeping your toes higher than your heels, which helps engage your front and secondary points at the moment of impact. David Roetzel lives in Avon, Colorado, with his wife and two children. He teaches and guides rock and ice climbing year round in the Vail area through his company, Vail Rock and Ice Guides.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Four features of mixed mountain routes By Sean Isaac Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Overhanging dry tooling and free-hanging daggers are now standard fare in the relatively low-risk cragging environment, but moving on to mixed climbing in the alpine arena is a step. Mixed terrain in the mountains tends to be less steep, but often compensates by being more run-out and scrappier. Loose choss and snowplastered rock can make alpinism feel more like battle than climbing, and even the skilled M-climber faces a learning curve. Prepare for these four terrain features when you take your mixed skills to higher ground. Icy Cracks. Ice-choked cracks can offer secure placements if you tread gently. Use controlled, deft blows when planting your picks in order to preserve the fragile medium. Placing your thumb against the back of the tool‟s grip can help stabilize and direct your swing. If the ice

Tap the pick for extra purchase on thin seams.

is super-thin, gently chip a hookable divot instead of planting the pick. In soft or chossy rock, thin or closed cracks devoid of ice can be dry tooled “piton-style,” by swinging to get a “stick.” Swing hard and on target to sink the pick into the crack. You can even tap the pick in further by hammering it with your other tool. Beware of icy protection cracks, as camming units easily can shear out. Scrape the crack clean with your pick so the cam lobes can gain purchase. Or, use hexes or Tricams, which tend to “bite” better than spring-loaded cams. Snow-Plastered Rock. Finding tool placements on snow-covered rock can be tedious, timeconsuming, and frightening. Two basic approaches are possible. In the first, sweep the terrain clear with your gloved hand or ice tool to locate holds and/or ice. Alternatively, troll your pick

through the snow until you feel it hook on something beneath the surface. Trusting holds you can‟t see can feel sketchy, so test each placement by yanking on it (a bit like bounce testing in aid climbing) before committing. If the terrain is less than vertical, as most snowy rock is, you‟ll be using your tools for balance and stability, with most of the weight on your feet. Forget about mono-points for snowed-up terrain; traditional dual horizontal-point crampons are best since they are less prone to shearing. If the snow is hard and thick enough, kick and pack footholes to stand in. Regardless, try to keep your weight evenly distributed between both feet. Chockstones. Chockstones are common on alpine mixed routes, which often follow gullies or chimneys. These sudden obstructions typically create overhangs, allowing you to capitalize on your sport-mixed experience. When attacking these obstacles, think three-dimensionally. Use chimney techniques to wedge and stem between the walls or between the wall and chockstone itself. The constriction where the stone touches the wall typically forms a useful hold, often a jug. Pulling over the chockstone will usually be the crux, requiring some grunting and ungraceful body English. Liberal use of knee, hip, and even stomach scums is standard. Be sure to place good protection before committing, as topping out over chockstones often leaves you trolling through deep snow for pick placements and gear. Loose Rock. Just as in summer, climbing loose rock on an alpine winter route demands a cool head and refined technique. Avoid getting into a desperate mindset where you‟re blindly reaching and pulling. Instead, move methodically, and test every placement to make sure it is trustworthy. Luckily, shattered terrain that might be unclimbable in summer can freeze up solid in winter. If the rock is less than vertical and the features large enough, reduce leverage on the holds by using your hands rather than dry tooling. If you do use your tools, avoid matching picks on the same hold. Instead, spread your weight equally between all four appendages, never committing full bodyweight to a single tool or crampon placement. Learn more about mixed climbing in Sean Isaac‟s forthcoming book How to Climb: Mixed Climbing, by Falcon Publishing.

Tech Tip - Sport - The basics of falling By Arno Ilgner Illustrations by Mike Clelland

When taking practice falls, have plenty of rope distance from your belayer; make sure your fall zone is steep and clear. Falling is part of the climbing process. A hold breaks, we slip, pump out, and we‟re off. It‟s important to find appropriate ways to practice falling so we learn to do it safely. Embrace. When we fall, intentionally or otherwise, we risk injury or death. To embrace the situation we need to be fully aware of everything that could happen. We need to honestly assess all the possible outcomes rather than block them out. By accepting the possibilities — death, injury, or no injury — we become fully aware of what we are getting ourselves into. This awareness is critical for effective and appropriate decision-making. Once we are conscious of all the possible outcomes, we can make effective, appropriate decisions that limit the kinds of fall consequences we engage. Engage. By practicing falling we improve our ability to respond to a fall. Even though we want to embrace the possibility of injury, we want to minimize the chance of that outcome. Your fall practice zone should be free of any protruding ledges and should have bomber protection. In the beginning of your practice, choose a fall zone that is slightly overhanging to help reduce the possibility of injury. Then, as you gain experience, you can practice more hazardous falling situations, such as those on vertical rock or with slightly swinging falls. Have plenty of rope in the system — at least 50 feet of rope between you and your belayer — to absorb the fall force. The rope will stretch during your practice session, so, after a few falls, lower off and let the rope regain its shape and length.

If you‟re new to falling, engage it gradually. Begin on toprope. Get used to the feeling of hanging on the rope, perhaps “running” or “pedaling” back and forth across the rock. Then, tell your belayer to leave some slack in the rope while you climb up a few moves and take a fall. Next, try practicing your lead falls. Begin by simply letting go right by the bolt. Then, climb a move or two above the bolt and take a fall. Increase your fall distance in small increments. Maintain proper form as you practice falling. Proper form includes keeping your arms and legs slightly bent with your arms out in front at chest height so you can respond to potential impact. Don‟t grab the rope. Step off gently rather than jumping out and back, which can cause you to slam into the wall. Pay attention to your breathing and how relaxed you feel. If you are holding your breath and feeling tense, then you need more practice before progressing to the next increment. When taking diagonal falls, pay attention to the rope in relation to your feet. If you are directly above the bolt, then the rope needs to be between your feet. If you are to the right or left of the bolt, then the rope needs to be outside of your feet. Enjoy your flight!

Tech Tip - Aid - Hooking By Mark Synnott Illustration by Mike Clelland

Anyone who‟s done much hooking can tell you that there‟s something undeniably special about hanging from a fingernail-sized piece of chrome-moly steel. Whether you‟ve done it once or a thousand times, the thrill‟s the same. Not every edge, flake, or hole is the same, so you‟ll want a variety of hooks for most. A standard hook rack looks like this: 1 Cliffhanger 1 Hawk (see illustration) 2 Talons 1 medium-sized hook (e.g., the Black Diamond Grappling or the Pika Ibis) 1 extra-big hook (e.g., the Fish Captain Hook) This basic setup will get you up almost anything. You often encounter similar moves back to back, so double-up on commonly used hooks. The Black Diamond Talons have three different hooks built into the same tripod-style tool, so having two of them on your rack essentially gives you doubles on three small hooks. Racking. Sort your hooks into two similar groups and carry them on two biners on your bandolier. Never carry all your hooks on one biner: If you drop it you‟ll be up a creek. Carry hooks towards the back of your gear sling since they have a bad tendency to get tangled with the rest of your rack.

Treading lightly, testing thoroughly

When you begin hooking, clip one biner full of hooks to each aider for the duration of the hooking section. This minimizes clipping and unclipping, reduces your chance of dropping a hook, and enables you to move efficiently from one move to the next. Happy hooking. Before you start a hooking section, obtain the best protection possible before you go. Next, stand up high in your aiders and inspect any likely edges within reach. Determine which hook best fits your edge of choice. You‟ll want to use the best hook placement possible, even if it‟s low. It‟s much better to do three short, solid moves than one dicey one. Avoid sloping or flat placements in favor of incut features. Small flakes usually have very positive edges for hooking, but use them with caution as they can break. On most welltraveled granite routes, you‟ll encounter obvious gouges in the rock where hook placements have been either intentionally enhanced or simply gouged out by repeated use. Standard practice is to lay your hook on a likely edge, then slide it horizontally until it drops into the approved divot. Bat hooking. Bat-hook holes — shallow, drilled holes that can be hooked — are common substitutes for dowels or rivets on big-wall climbs. Many a climber has done a super-sketchy aid move only to later notice that he‟s bypassed a bat hook. Keep your eyes peeled for these tiny holes, especially in places that otherwise look completely blank. Look where you think you‟d drill — that‟s where you‟ll usually find them. Talons work well for most bat-hook holes. Stepping up. Do not bounce test hook placements! Apply too much force and a hook can bend open or the rock will snap. Carefully and gradually shift your weight onto the hook. It‟s OK to look at the hook as you test it, but safety glasses are a good call in case it blows. If the hook hasn‟t blown after 10 seconds, I give it a slight spring with my foot. Finally, I‟ll push my body against the rock in an effort to make the hook pivot a bit before I fully commit. I‟m now trying to see just what the hook can handle. Remember, when moving from one hook to another, keep some weight on the lower hook until you‟re ready to commit to the new placement. If you completely unweight a hook, it may fall off whether you‟re ready or not.

Metal shop. Standard Cliffhangers often are the best tools for hooking fragile flakes, but a “pointed” version will bite better in small dimples. You can simply file the end of the Cliffhanger to a point — the standard pointed hook — or you can take off a full centimeter of metal to change the geometry of the hook before making the point, creating the “Hawk,” one of my favorite hooks. I use a grinding wheel, taking great care to work slowly, constantly cooling the hook in ice water so I don‟t ruin the temper of the metal. I‟ve found the Hawk to be the most useful hook on my rack. Ramping up. Eventually you may find that you enjoy hooking so much that you want to try a really hard route like Wyoming Sheep Ranch or Plastic Surgery Disaster. Here‟s a sample hook rack for a hard Yosemite route: 2 Talons 2 Cliffhangers (one pointed) 2 Hawks 2 Leeper-Logan pointed-tip hooks 2 Leeper flat-tip hooks 2 medium-sized hooks 2 large hooks Many of the hardest hook moves involve long reaches between placements. I like to wear a free-climbing boot, just in case I want to have one foot in a ladder and the other on the rock. I also carry a chalk bag so I can hold onto thin edges for steep top-stepping. Many famous hooking testpieces are no “harder” than easy hook routes, just much more sustained, with greatly elevated consequences. The main challenge of hard

The Hawk, an easily crafted modification

hooking is keeping your cool. Thoroughly testing each hook move helps to keep the mind from coming unhinged. If you get too strung out, remember that down-hooking or lowering off hooks is possible.

Tech Tip - Trad - Avoiding the sting By David Schmidt Illustration by Mike Clelland

In mid-August 2001 I was following my best friend up the first pitch of Yosemite‟s Nutcracker. Chris opted for the left-facing dihedral start to the climb, and, it being August in the Valley, we began our ascent at 5:30 a.m. Chris hiked the pitch, put me on belay, and I began to climb. Halfway up, acute pain erupted in my face and neck and I fell several body lengths before Chris arrested my fall. Twelve hours later I was lying in the Yosemite Medical Clinic, the entire left side of my face horribly swollen; it would be 10 full days before the inflammation subsided and I could climb again. The doctors explained that I have an anaphylactic (hypersensitive) allergy to vespids — yellow jackets, hornets, and wasps — aggressive stinging insects that nest in dark places, like splitter cracks and flakes. It‟s estimated that some two million Americans are dangerously allergic to vespids, resulting in 90 to 100 deaths per

Tread lightly over potentially deadly terrain.

year — three to four times more fatalities than snakebites. While honeybees (which may be dangerously aggressive in the Southwest where Africanized bees are found) die after inflicting only one sting, vespids are capable of inflicting numerous stings. Luckily, there are tactics for preventing a sting, and methods for dealing with severe allergies that allow anaphylactic climbers to enjoy long routes.

Know your limits. If there are hereditary allergies in your family, get an allergy test. This test will quantify and qualify which insects you‟re allergic to, and let you know the necessary steps to take if you‟re stung. Immunotherapy. Once your allergist has quantified the level of your allergy, you can begin a series of low-dosage injections of insect venom that, over time, greatly decrease the likelihood of an anaphylactic reaction. It‟s recommended that anyone with known allergies get a thorough work-up by an allergist to understand the exact parameters of their sensitivity. Stealth clothing. Scientists believe that vespids are attracted to dark colors and flowery patterns on clothes. Black particularly angers vespids, whereas white is a neutral color. Fragrances. Vespids are attracted to fruity smells, so avoid wearing strong-smelling deodorants, perfumes, cologne, soaps, shampoos, and hair sprays. Vespids are lured as well to the sweet fragrance of garbage; make sure your refuse is securely sealed on walls or long routes — also watch out for sweet-smelling sodas. Furthermore, vespids are drawn to the smell of sweat; if you‟re feeling especially “fresh,” take extra care. Homeland security. Vespids and honeybees are aggressive only when their nests are threatened. Honeybees typically build their nests in trees, but also may nest in cliff features such as huecos. Hornets and paper wasps nest under roofs and overhangs, but they sometimes construct their homes on blank faces as well. Yellow jackets are burrowers (they build subterranean nests), so take special care to suss out dirt-covered ledges or encrusted cracks for hidden nests. Watch for the flight patterns of insects entering and leaving a zone as an indication of a nearby nest, and avoid that area. In general, if you stay 10 feet away from a nest you should usually be outside the insects‟ alarm zone. Cool temps. Stinging insects are cold blooded, so they become drunken and sluggish when the temperature drops. Cooler days, evenings, early mornings, and cooler seasons are ideal for anaphylactic climbers. Scene of the crime. When a vespid or honeybee stings, it releases pheromones into the air that incite other nearby insects from the nest to attack the victim. If you get stung, get away from the site as fast as possible. Approach slowly. If your pitch puts you on a collision course with a nest, look for an alternate passage, or strongly consider retreating. If that‟s impossible, the non-allergic leader

should approach the nest slowly and quietly, as vespids view quick motion and loud noises as aggressive behavior. Smoke ‟em if you‟ve got ‟em. Beekeepers use smoke to dope up their livestock before harvesting honey. Tape a pack of butts and a lighter to your helmet, and light up if you encounter a nest. The smoke might buy you enough time to climb to safety. Fast breaks. Some people require a trip to the hospital in addition to an Epi-pen injection when stung. Depending on the extent of your allergy, consider routes with a straightforward escape, and research what rescue services are available before leaving the deck. Epi-Pens. Epinephrine pens are used by people with allergies to combat anaphylaxis, and should be mandatory gear. Experts recommend carrying two Epi-Pens. Take a length of accessory cord and thoroughly duct tape it to the plastic carrying tube, then girth-hitch the cord to a gear loop. Make sure your partner knows how to administer the injection, and that your pen is current and hasn‟t been ruined by hot temps (see manufacturers‟ labels for temperature tolerances). This Tech Tip was written with expert consultation from Dr. Richard Lankow and Dr. Beth Bennett.

Tech Tip - Sport - Commitment By Arno Ilgner Illustration by Mike Clelland

Commitment: What causes it to stay high or to drop. “Until one is committed there is always hesitancy, a chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.” So begins a frequently quoted passage from W.H. Murray‟s book Scottish Himalayan Expedition. Commitment can carry you through difficult climbs, while lack of it can shut you down. What allows some climbers to tap into this resource and others not? Commitment isn‟t something that some climbers have and others don‟t. Rather, those climbers who are able to commit apply their attention differently. There‟s a time to prepare and a time to act. Commitment comes into the mix when you transition from preparing to acting — from thinking to doing. Great things transpire here, but the quality of your commitment will depend on how you negotiate

Second guessing leads to second-rate climbing.

this transition. As you get on climbs near your limit, you increase the likelihood of falling. On hard routes you‟ll be faced with a decision: commit to climbing or, if the falling consequence isn‟t safe, retreat. Practice commitment by selecting and engaging safe, well-protected climbs, as you‟ll likely be whipping.

Avoidance behavior: Most climbs are broken into easier sections and crux sections. Avoidance behavior is common when you enter a crux — you seek an escape from the anxiety and fear caused by the very challenging climbing and the reality that you might fall. Remember that you‟re on a hard climb in order to challenge yourself, not to get off easy. Embrace the difficulty, don‟t avoid it. Dynamics of the break. Anxiety and fear will remain until you deliberately break away and commit. Below each crux section is a decision point. When you‟re poised below a crux, your attention is focused on gathering information and weighing options. When you take action you‟ll stop thinking and focus your attention on acting on those options. This shift should be abrupt and complete. Convince yourself that there are only two possible outcomes — you will climb through or you will fall. Then, commit! Engage the climbing. By fully accepting the falling outcome, you reduce the intrusion of the thinking mind and eliminate the tendency to second-guess yourself. Expectations. The type of expectation you have will either empower your commitment or weaken it. When you launch into the crux sections you should expect that it will be uncomfortable. Beyond that, keep your expectation on the effort, not the outcome. This will keep your attention focused on the quality of your climbing. An effort focus allows you to learn, because you get useful feedback about your performance rather than the “pass/fail” grade you get if you‟re focused on the outcome. Your commitment stays high because you receive what you want — feedback and learning — each step of the way.

Executing moves with a decisive mind and effort-based expectations will boost your chance of success. Motivation. Your type of motivation also will impact your commitment. With a fear-based motivation — fear of falling, failure, or loss of control — you enter the crux with an attitude of avoidance. You‟re focused on what you don‟t want to happen. Instead, cultivate a positive motivation. What do you like or enjoy about a challenging climb? The outcome may be uncertain, but you do know that you can engage. Set your intention on engaging and exerting effort. Apply your knowledge. First, identify the transition points — those places below crux sections. Assess the consequences of a fall and accept them. Third, stay positive in your motivation by looking for possibilities. Last, be decisive. Create a break by committing to a crux. Set an intention to engage the risk and keep your expectation focused on exerting effort. Commit to a single course of action — simply stop thinking and go for it! Arno Ilgner teaches his Warrior‟s Way mental training classes in the Southeast and at various climbing gatherings around the country. You can contact him at www.warriorsway.com.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Stealthy mountain travel By Joe Stock Illustration by Mike Clelland

Beyond the razor wire surrounding the maximum-security prison lies a vast range of mountains and wilderness. To the non-climbing detainees, the mountains are an impossible pipedream; to the incarcerated alpinist, freedom awaits there. Legendary climbers-turnedPOWs-turned escapees — such as Heinrich Harrer and Peter Aufschnaiter — used their alpine savvy to elude their pursuers as they negotiated mountain terrain. By studying the great mountain escape stories, alpinists can learn minimum-impact tactics and tricks for preserving the adventure for the next party. First, ditch all unnecessary gear and food so you can travel super light, with torture as your punishment for not outpacing your pursuers. Don‟t leave an obvious trail. The following six stealth alpine travel tips are useful for treading lightly. Leave a sling, take five. Keep rap

stations

clean,

simple,

and

organized.

Instead of adding webbing to an unyielding wad, cut off the stiff, faded slings and rap on the two

Stealth rappin’ cuts down on our environmental impact.

strongest pieces, plus a new one. To cut the slings, carry a small, inexpensive serrated hardware-store knife on your harness. While you‟re at the hardware store, pick up a few 3/8inch steel lap links or 1/4-inch quick links for easing rope retrieval and saving the slings from rope burn. Invisible beds. Harrer and Aufschnaiter labored to make sleeping platforms on their journey to Lhasa in Seven Years in Tibet, but they didn‟t leave obvious bivy ledges. Think like that duo and refrain from major ledge excavations at your bivy sites. Use your clothing, pack, rope, and

rack to level out rough spots. Before decamping, camouflage your bivi site by scattering rocks around it, lichen-encrusted side facing up. Let others work for their doss. Cairn about escaping. Beth Rodden, Tommy Caldwell, and their crew didn‟t leave a series of rock cairns showing the IMU how to catch them in Kyrgyzstan. While the occasional threestone cairn signaling a hidden descent gully is convenient, don‟t go overboard on your masonry efforts. Take a few seconds to trundle any needless cairns, remove fluorescent flagging, and clean up wands on your decent. Mountain biohazard. Options exist beyond the standard fare of cat-holes, smearing, poop tubes, and blue bagging. One choice is to take your relief on a flat rock or crust of snow and then toss the platter off route. If there are no available trays, you can build an anchor near the edge of a crevasse, clip in, and lever your derriere right out over the abyss. Use sticks, rocks, or pinecones for the “heavy work,” then finish with a bit of toilet paper. If you‟re camped on a glacier or a snowfield, snow patties work better than TP. Clean cooking. Keep a tidy kitchen by polishing off every scrap of food and drinking your rinse water. When camping on snow, pour your wastewater into a sump hole or crevasse. Place your stove on the non-lichened side of a flat rock, rather than on combustible alpine flora, and scatter the rocks from your stove windbreak before decamping. Junkyard critters. Bears often find caches, and they‟re capable of climbing V0. Stash your food atop highball boulders, or dangle your grub bag off a cliff with your cordelette. If rodents are your worry, then keep your food inside your tent, away from the walls, or lever your larder off a smaller boulder with a ski pole. So, the next time you‟re in the alpine zone, make a game out of stealth travel practices. Heck, it just might save your butt if you need to make a fast break from the clink someday!

Tech Tip - Aid - Block leading By Mike Shore Illustration by Mike Clelland

You‟ve done some walls, you‟ve got your system dialed, and you move efficiently on the rock, yet you find yourself asking, “Why does it take me four days to do a route that locals hike in a day?” The honed aid climber knows when to be careful and when to take chances, but he‟s also mastered a few tricks, and one of them is block leading. Block leading means that each leader will lead multiple pitches in a row; each group of pitches led is called a block. Block leading on multipitch aid and free routes helps your party move more continuously, keeps the leader focused and climbing efficiently, allows mental relief for the belayer, and minimizes clustered belays. Moreover, with the right system, block leading can significantly reduce the amount of time that a leader is stuck waiting at a belay, as he can continue leading while the other members of his party deal with cleaning and hauling. The most efficient group for block leading is a party of three. Climber One leads, Climber Two belays and hauls, and Climber Three cleans. Besides knowing how to jug, haul, and aid, every party member must be competent with self-belaying

techniques

(the

clove-hitch

method is simplest). Start by having all three climbers at a belay, anchored with a cordellette. The leader takes off carrying the entire rack, trailing a zip line. When he reaches the belay he builds an anchor

A team of three block leading efficiently

with a second cordelette, pulls up the haul line (with extra gear if needed) via the zip line, then ties off the haul line to the anchor‟s power point. The leader then pulls up all the slack in the lead line, fixes it to the power point (this will be his belay anchor), and continues up the next pitch using standard self-belay techniques. He continues climbing until he runs out of rope or gear, or is put on belay after the pitch below has been cleaned and the gear zipped up to him. Once the haul line is fixed, the second immediately starts ascending it (for a fast and efficient jugging set-up, refer to the Aid Tech Tip in Climbing, issue 226), reaching the belay much faster than if he had to clean the pitch a la traditional wall style. The third climber cannot leave the lower belay until the second reaches the new anchor and rigs the hauling system. Once this is done, the third releases the pig and immediately starts cleaning. The faster the second and third complete these jobs, the less likely it is that the leader will have to pause. When the second reaches the anchor, he sets up the hauling device and rigs the haul line so that Climber Three can release the haulbag(s), at which point the second can start hauling.If the leader has run out of rope, he will have to wait until Climber Three reaches the new belay and the lower section of the lead line is freed. Once Climber Three arrives, he puts the leader back on a normal belay. The leader then can zip up the cleaned gear and continue his block as the third belays and the second hauls. The team can continue this process, passing gear and ropes up the zip line until its time to change leaders. Practice this method before you get on a wall. The advantages of leading in blocks are immeasurable as you approach more complicated wall situations. Climbing and hauling with three people is simplified, the mental game is broken up, and the movement is more continuous.

Tech Tip - Sport - Slowing the pump clock By Eric J. Horst Illustration by Mike Clelland

Slowing the pump clock: three strategies to prevent the pump Training to get stronger is a good thing. Climbing in ways that conserve energy and enable rapid recovery is a smart thing! While both of these strategies will improve your climbing performance, too many climbers obsess about getting stronger, while not recognizing the value of optimizing their use of strength and accelerating their recovery. It‟s a fact that all the best climbers are strong — yet not every strong climber rises to the top. The difference often lies in the subtleties: economy of movement, preventing the pump, and maximizing recovery while climbing. The following three strategies do just this. Use them, and you‟ll find the pump clock ticking slower, regardless of your current strength or ability.

“G-Toxing” helps you keep your power.

Climb with more economy. Most climbers get poor fuel economy when climbing near their limit. Learning to climb more efficiently requires a conscious effort, so get a partner and make a game out of it. The following are energy-conserving techniques to practice on moderate routes or in the gym: • Predetermine the rest positions on a route and only chalk up and rest there. Climb briskly from one rest to the next.

• Limit your time on any given hold to five seconds or less, except for rest positions. Climb past the smallest, pumpy holds as fast as possible. • Vary your grip position whenever possible. Alternate between crimps, open hands, thumb locks, pinches, and pocket grips as often as the rock allows. Don‟t miss a chance to sink a hand jam or finger lock — these are great energy-saving grips that many face climbers miss. Flex your fingers and wrist between grips. Recovering on a route is something most climbers just let happen. This is a mistake — instead, take a proactive role in the recovery process. Open and close your fingers or flex your wrist between each grip. Visualize flicking water off your fingers or hand as you reach for the next hold — that‟s the motion you are after. This spurs blood flow through the forearm muscles — which actually stops during times of maximum gripping. The aggregate effect of doing this between every grip will significantly reduce your accumulated pump. Use the G-Tox to speed recovery at rests. The “dangling arm shakeout” is the technique universally used to foster pump recovery. It is not, however, the best technique. A more effective method uses gravity to your advantage; hence, I call it the “G-Tox”. Alternate the position of your resting arm between the normal dangling position and an above-your-head position. For example, gently wiggle your arm in the normal by-the-side rest position for five seconds, then raise it to a half-bent position above your shoulder and shake it gently for five seconds. Repeat this cycle as often as needed — or for as long as you can hang out at the rest! The pump sensation you feel in the forearms is largely the result of accumulated lactic acid and restricted blood flow. While the dangling-arm shakeout allows good blood flow into the forearm, it doesn‟t help the flow of “old blood” out of the forearm, due to the arm‟s position below your heart. The result is a traffic jam of sorts, which perpetuates the pump and slows recovery. (Have you ever noticed how the pump often increases as you begin the shakeout process with your arm by your side?) The G-Tox technique makes gravity your ally by aiding venous return to the heart. This enhances the removal of lactic acid and speeds recovery. The effects of this technique are unmistakable — you will literally feel your pump “drained” as you elevate your arm. Use the G-Tox at all your mid-climb shakeouts by deliberately alternating the position of your resting arm, between raise-hand and dangling position, every five to ten seconds.

Tech Tip - Aid - A0: Aid climbing for free climbers By Mark Synnott Illustration by Mike Clelland

A0 — quick and dirty aiding, generally without etriers — is not glamorous, but it‟s a handy skill to have in your repertoire, especially for moving fast. Whether it‟s the Nose in one day or three, A0 gets the job done. A0 covers a wide spectrum, from hangdogging on a sport climb, to speed maneuvers on walls, to aiding through short cruxes. A0 is standard on big-wall speed ascents, and common on long free routes when you‟re racing against darkness or an imminent storm — or when you‟re just plain blown and trying to get the hell off. Let‟s say you‟ve tried that crux move several times; it‟s just not happening, and you‟d rather finish your climb than beat yourself up any longer. If there‟s a piece in front of you, grab it and pull through to the next good hold. If this doesn‟t work, clip a sling to the piece and step into it — this will give you more reach and be less strenuous. With

A climber resting on a fifi hook, ready to A0 a thin crack

a single-length runner, you‟ll be seriously high stepping, so make sure the piece is solid. If it blows when you‟re rocking onto it, you could easily take an upside-down fall. This technique works well on short bolt ladders. If the rock is low angled, you may be able to yard through on draws with your feet smeared on the bolt hangers.

On steep rock, yarding on gear is strenuous, so don‟t hesitate to fifi into a piece to rest. Even if you‟re free climbing instead of pulling on gear, it‟s more efficient to take a quick break than to push until your arms are completely flamed. If you don‟t have a fifi hook, a biner (keylock biners are preferable because they don‟t catch) clipped to your belay loop will serve the same purpose. For speed, A0 works especially well on parallel-sided cracks, such as Boot Flake on the Nose. Sure, you might be able to free the pumpy 5.10d pitch, but A0 will leave you more energy for the summit dihedrals you‟ll be facing in the evening. Try leapfrogging the same sized cam, one in each hand. Some people put their hands through the slings and use the cams in the style of leashed ice axes. Use your feet exactly as if you were free climbing, either stuffed in the crack or on face holds. A good A0 practice is to move the cams up with you, clipping fixed gear or placing nuts when you want protection. Conserving cams this way, you won‟t get left in a lurch if you come across the same sized crack higher on the pitch. Survey the rock in front of you and don‟t be afraid to move back and forth frequently between free and A0. The legendary Layton Kor is an example of a climber who had an uncanny intuition for when to move from free to aid and vice versa, finding the balance that maximized that essential quality: speed. If you find yourself spending time and energy figuring out how to free a move, it will be more efficient to yard through this section (provided there is gear). On the other hand, don‟t hesitate to step out of those slings and fire short sections free if they look doable. (Free climbing will always be faster than A0 as long as you keep moving.) To rest, you can either fifi into a piece or clip your lead line and call for tension. The latter works best when you want to leave one of the pieces you‟ve been leapfrogging, or switch into free mode, saving you the awkwardness of clipping and unclipping. And don‟t forget that it‟s often best to mix it up; you might be yarding with one hand and finger jamming with the other, while one foot‟s in a sling and the other‟s smearing on a fixed pin or a small edge. Consider how your second will get through an A0 section. Let‟s say you yarded through a short bit of aid, but back cleaned the pro. If the rock is less than vertical, the second can batman the locked-off lead line until he reaches the next piece. Once he‟s fified in and unweighted the rope, you can quickly reel in the slack. On steeper rock, the second may be able to aid through using the gear he‟s cleaned. In general, a super-tight belay can expedite things when the second is A0-ing.

With a little practice you‟ll find A0 relatively painless. And what‟s nice is that you don‟t need anything more than what you‟d normally carry for a free climb. When done right, A0 can speed things up, help you avoid epics, and even open access to routes that might otherwise be out of reach.

Tech Tip - Big Wall - Bucket containers By Chris Kalous Illustrations by Mike Tea

Bucket of love — keeping items handy and uncrushed on big walls. You want a cracker?” Kevin Thaw asked in his curious So-Cal-surfer-meets-Sheffieldhardman accent as he handed me a pristine, deliciously salty Triscuit. I stared at the scrumptious gift in disbelief — every scrap of food I had that was not packaged in a can was a pulverized mess. Kevin had pulled this delicate lip-smacker from his “wall bucket” — a fivegallon plastic pail that had been innocuously scraping around below his haulbag for three days while we battled up the Reticent Wall on El Capitan. Kevin had been using his bucket to protect all sorts of fragile goodies from the trashcompactor haulbags: cookies, dates, crackers, camera, and a Walkman. Each morning before we repacked the bags, Kevin would anticipate what he would need handy for the day, placing the accoutrements in his bucket, thereby sparing himself the odious task of burrowing headfirst into the haulbags. In the multi-day vertical world — where something as simple as taking a leak can turn into an embarrassingly awkward ordeal — luxury and convenience are golden. If your haulbag already weighs 100-plus pounds, what difference do a few extra ounces really make if they put a smile on your greasy face? Get a handle on it. Although even with a serious set of tools it is nearly impossible to remove

the

metal

handle

from

your

industrial grade, five-gallon “wall bucket,” it shouldn‟t be solely trusted to hold your valuables. As a back-up, run webbing the length of the handle and then knot it inside custom-cut slots just below the handle-attachment points on each side.

Keep a lid on it. Rig a strap on top of the bucket to keep the lid from popping off during hauling. A couple of inches below the bucket‟s lip and perpendicular to the handle attachments, cut two narrow slots. Thread and knot a tail of a two-foot section of half-inch webbing through one slot. This will anchor one side of a Fastex-type buckle strap that meets in the middle of the lid and can be cinched tight. Run another chunk of webbing through the other slot and knot it as well, this time leaving a three-foot tail inside the bucket (figure 1). Tie up the tail with overhand-on-a-bight knots to create clip-in loops for your goodies. For a truly professional look, use a rivet tool for all the webbing attachment points. Get a leash on that thing. Set up a short leash on the lid to prevent it from taking the Big Ride if it slips from your wall-battered mitts. First, drill small holes in the bucket and lid, then tie a short perlon leash through the two holes. During hauling, tie the bucket to a piece of static line that is a little longer than your haulbag. Clip the line to the bag‟s hauling point so that the bucket rides underneath and out of the way, but can still be easily retrieved for mid-belay snacking and photo opportunities. Spend 10 bucks on a bucket and webbing, and say goodbye to crushed foods and M.I.A. personal gear.

Tech Tip - Trad - Choss rock By Steve Levin Illustrations by Mike Tea

Loose living — climbing light and smart through choss rock. Apart from a twisted few, climbers actively avoid loose rock. However, you needn‟t be climbing in the Dolomites or the Black Canyon (where if you don‟t like a hold you can toss it over your shoulder) to encounter this terrifying medium. Bad rock is a fact of life, and even 5.6 trade routes like Eldorado Canyon‟s Calypso, can have flexy flakes or large “time-bomb” blocks on them. If you climb, there‟s probably a rock somewhere with your name on it. These tips will help ensure that that manky block has got the spelling wrong. Avoid it. When confronted with a section of loose or blocky rock, first look for ways to climb around it. Bad rock is often found in the nebulous, moderate terrain on multi-pitch routes, where thoughtful route-finding will get you past chossy sections in relative safety. Inspect your holds. If you must tackle a chossy section, carefully inspect each hold before you touch it. Are there fracture lines around the hold or is it securely wedged? Test the hold by gently tapping on it with the palm of your hand. If it sounds hollow or vibrates, tread lightly. Remember, a chalked hold is not necessarily a solid hold! Be delicate. Imagine how the vectors of the various forces you‟re applying to the hold will affect it. Never pull directly out or towards yourself with a suspect hold — this could lever it right off the wall! Pull straight down instead, moving as fluidly as possible and keeping your weight over your feet. Plan for the worst. Distribute your body weight so that if the hold breaks you can recover your balance in time to avoid a fall. If you

yard the hold off, yell “Rock!” as loudly as you can. Plan for loose pitches by stationing your belay, and your belayer, out of the line of fire. To pro or not to pro? Unfortunately, there‟s no pat answer when it comes to protecting loose rock. The psychological security afforded by a piece (however crappy it may be) may not offset the danger of simul-falling with a jagged block that your pro has just levered out. Though cams often provide more security than passive pro, it‟s often better to suck it up and skip the placement altogether. Know the season. During the spring — with its significant freeze-thaw cycles — and after spells of heavy rain, the cliffs are at their most active. Hollow plates, loose blocks, and flexible flakes may be more unstable. Be extra “heads up” at these times. Most importantly, there‟s no need to tempt fate by not wearing a helmet. With the new ultralight models on the market, you‟ll almost forget you have it on your head. While loose rock is never pleasant, you can turn a potentially lethal experience into merely a scary one by keeping your head.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Digging in By Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Tea

Digging in — the grave that saves. You‟re hours from the road with waning daylight and a blizzard brewing on the horizon. You‟ve left your palatial tent at home, opting instead for a fast and light approach. A forced bivy is imminent. What now? Quicker and drier to erect than an igloo and requiring merely a shovel and snow saw to build, a snow trench will have you safe, sound, and sleeping through the harshest of winter storms. Terrain. Find a dense snow layer that can be cut into blocks. Seek wind-scoured terrain or dig through powder to a more consolidated layer. On a hillside, start by leveling out a platform. Floor plan. Using your saw blade, etch a floor plan in the snow. Align your trench parallel with the wind, with the door on the leeward side. A one-person trench should be a shoulder-width across and eight to 10 feet long. Construct multiple trenches for two or more people. Next, outline the individual blocks that will be used to construct the A-frame roof. Draw these rectangular outlines widthwise down the length of the floor plan, with thickness contingent on snow pack density (e.g. six inches thick for firm, Styrofoam snow). The block that forms the doorframe should extend about four inches longer on each side (figure 1). Dig in. Cut a full saw blade deep into all your lines. Double-cutting the lines (with a half inch between

cuts) makes the blocks easier to remove. Excavate the entryway by digging a platform about two and a half feet below the snow in front of the door-frame block, exposing its entire profile. Undercut each block with your saw or shovel blade before removing. The blocks should pop out intact with just a nudge; if they break, quarry more from another site. Set the blocks on alternating sides of the trench (figure 2). Putting on the roof. If you desire more shoulder room, undercut the sides of your trench accordingly. Next, use your saw blade to incise small ledges along both lips of the trench to anchor the blocks once they‟re stood up. To allow the blocks to sit flush at the apex of the A, carefully shave a 45-degree angle into one of the widthwise edges. The blocks should stand on end (lengthwise) so that the apex is higher and forms a more solid structure. Beginning at the windward side, stand the first two blocks up lengthwise and position them so that one lines up with the end of the trench and the other is offset a half-block width, providing stability once all the blocks are leaning against each other (figure 3). Continue this with each block until you are left with only the longer block, which will be placed across the width of the trench as your doorframe. Cutting a final block in half will allow you to fill the gaps at either end from the offset blocks. A block or pack can be used to plug the door after you crawl in (figure 4). Finishing touches. Give the blocks time to meld together, then chink all the cracks to solidify the structure. Round off sharp edges and shovel a layer of loose snow over the top to create a smooth, domed shape. Ventilation holes are a must, especially if you intend to use a stove. You can also carve out shelves and add a cold sump in the entryway.

Tech Tip - Sport - Eco-friendly bouldering By Matt Samet Illustrations by Mike Tea

Eco-padding — limit your bouldering impact. With public land managers clued in to the existence of us Pad People and closures looming left and right, it‟s time to start bouldering smart and reducing impact. Our presence at the rocks will invariably cause a few changes, but if you think (and act) “green,” you‟re less likely to leave the boulders in an unsightly state. Here are a few crafty ways to use your pads and other nonpermanent measures to leave landing zones as pristine as possible. Deck out the pads. While it was cool to scrape out strip mines in your childhood

Nix the ticks: Gently scrub chalk off before departing

sandbox, large-scale earth moving is not appropriate at your local boulders. Instead of excavating elaborate terraces on steep slopes, stack and overlap doubled-up pads to form the base of a temporary “terrace.” Drape an open pad or two over this base and blend it into the uphill side of your landing. Though you may have to rebuild your structure after each fall, it will only enhance your bouldering karma. Tie up the veg. Leave the saws and pruning shears at home and bring some string instead. Flexible shrubs and small trees or tree limbs can be temporarily tied out of the way to enlarge a landing zone, obviating the need for more drastic measures. Don‟t bend fragile plants past their breaking point and layer a rag or tee-shirt under the string to protect the stalk. Always untie and pack out the string when finished. Get rid of the white trash. With modern “toothbrush and water” technology you no longer have to leave a boulder looking like a graffiti-riddled New York City subway car. Tick marks

are like trash: Clean them up even if they aren‟t yours. I usually carry a bit of extra water or a spritzer bottle and some nylon-bristled brushes for this purpose. Don‟t be social. The classic but shopworn Flagstaff Mountain above Boulder, Colorado, is a prime example of a bouldering area that is being loved to death, replete with a heinous gridwork of social trails. Don‟t be lazy! Stick to the most heavily-used trails and avoid unnecessary shortcuts between boulders. Leave no trace. Be a crunchy, minimumimpact hippy! After sessioning a boulder, check the environs for trash and spread a few liberal handfuls of pine needles, rocks, leaves, and twigs, over the landing area to restore a “natural” look. Just

Nix the ticks: Gently scrub chalk off before departing.

remember: skankous tape wads, cigarette butts, and energy-bar wrappers do not constitute local flora.

Tech Tip - Sport - Road-Trip-itus By David Schmidt Illustration by Mike Clelland

Avoiding

Road-Trip-

itus It‟s 2 a.m. and the sign reads 420 miles to Denver. Your buddy cues up his favorite Sean Paul song, again. You

throw

him

a

loaded glance, but he‟s conveniently fidgeting with a CD case. Just then that trademark bouquet permeates your truck. Your partner giggles and you crack the window in disgust. “Road-Trip-Itus” is a well-known condition caused by spending too much time in close proximity to the same person. The same stories regurgitate, and those mannerisms you found so amusing at the gym are becoming grounds for manslaughter. Even though you‟re only halfway through your much-anticipated road trip, the 9-to-5 grind back at the glue factory is sounding like paradise. Luckily, there‟s a solution. Expedition Behavior (EB) is a term endemic to experiential-education programs. Simply put, good EB derives from a mental outlook that places trip objectives above one‟s own personal agendas. For an expedition to succeed, members must have a common goal, and agree on a leadership hierarchy. The following suggestions will set the tone for a successful trip before you even pull away from your mom‟s driveway. Have a plan. Unless you‟re headed off for an endless road trip, having an agreed-upon destination and timeframe are critical. Hash out these details before you depart. Drive your miles. Nothing‟s worse than embarking on a long trip with one and a half drivers. Pull your weight behind the wheel. Keep it clean. A messy car breeds contempt. Keep your belongings in their designated spot, and respect your buddy‟s space.

Rise ’n’ shine. Some people love early mornings; others cringe at the thought. Don‟t act too bright-eyed until you learn your partner‟s routine. Penny pinching. Make sure you have adequate funding before you set off. Dirt bagging is fun, but the hassle of doing everything on the cheap can cut into your climbing time — a commodity far more valuable than money. Flexibility. Be open-minded about new possibilities. Provided they don‟t deviate too far from your goal, the unexpected often yields adventure. Know each other‟s abilities. It sucks discovering your trusted gym spotter is a Gumby belayer. Go on a few day trips together before embarking on a longer and more committing journey. Small favors. Niceties go a long way. Don‟t be afraid to occasionally treat your partner to his favorite candy bar or iced latté. Laugh, godamit. Laughter is the lubrication that keeps all social mechanisms running smoothly. Like good Karma, spread it wide and fat. Dish patrol. Do more than your fair share of the dishes — it‟s free, easy, and shows you‟re a team player. Third parties. Try to meet new people along the way. Fresh perspectives and new stories raise spirits, especially if you‟ve been traveling with the same person for a prolonged period. Personal space. Alone time is essential, even if it‟s just an hour to read. If you see your partner ensconced in his journal, it‟s probably not the best time to beg for a belay. Leggo my ego. Be a supportive belayer, and avoid getting overly competitive about the same route — this can ruin a road trip faster than a busted timing belt! Open dialog. Establish good communication with your partner, and make sure you both speak your mind. If your partner wants to spend an extra week at a crag that holds little appeal to you, talk it out and compromise. It‟s much easier to handle the little things before they magnify. Don‟t eat the last PowerBar. If you‟re sharing food, never polish off a resource without offering it up first. Think of your team first and realize that you‟re part of something greater than yourself. When you debark for a road trip, you‟re forsaking your comfort zone and daily routines for adventure. Take this reality one step further by actively fostering a positive group mindset. Whether it‟s kicking your partner a couple hamburgers or relinquishing a redpoint, small

sacrifices go a long way in demonstrating that you‟re a team player. Abandon your comfort zone, try new ways of doing things, and you might just learn something about yourself along the way.

Tech Tip - Aid - Cheap aiders and daisy chains By Jonathan Thesenga Illustrations by Mike Tea

Cheap aid — knotting your own aiders and daisy chains Enough with the sport climbs and boulder problems — you want a new rush, you want to start aid climbing! If you‟ve got a standard rack of cams and nuts, you‟re ready to roll. The only aid-specific gear you‟ll need before launching up your first pitch of C1 are aiders and daisy chains. One problem, though: You‟re as broke as a hobo, and a set of four sewn aiders and two daisy chains are going to set you back at least $120 at the gear shop. Ouch! Rather than cook your cash on those fancy sewn jobs (and given that you may end up loathing the monotony and heavy workloads involved with aiding), craft your own aiders and daisies for a fraction of the cost, and in less than an hour. First, scoot down to the gear shop and buy four 20-foot sections of one-inch flat webbing and four 10-foot sections of 9/16 tubular webbing. Your total outlay should be less than $35. Out on the rock, the aiders and daisies you‟ll make from this webbing will inevitably end up in a confusing mess, so be sure to buy a different color for each section. Now kick back at home and get comfy — it‟s knot-tying time! First you‟ll tie the aiders using a Frost knot. Fold one tail of webbing 10 to 12 inches over the other, then make a simple overhand knot (figure 1). The small loop Figure 1 and 2 that is formed is the clip-in point. Next up is tying the steps. This is why you use flat webbing — it gives the steps substance. Make the first step by tying an overhand knot in the loop one foot directly below the clip-in point. Here‟s the cruxy part: Before cinching the knot tight, take one strand of the webbing and pull three inches or so of slack through the knot. This will give the loop a slight teardrop shape, which forms the step. Follow the same procedure for the other steps, alternating the side on which the loop goes (figure 2). Each 20-foot section of webbing should yield a five-step aider. It‟s a touch tricky getting the steps the right length, so take your time, and redo the knots until the aider looks right.

The daisy chains are made the same way as the aiders, with two exceptions: The loops should be much smaller (but big enough to accept a couple of carabiners) and should all be tied on one side, not alternating like the aider. Make the final loop big enough to allow the daisy to be girth-hitched to your harness. Finally, do not put your system to use until you‟ve cinched the knots extremely tight. Over time the knots will weld themselves, but for the first few pitches, be sure to monitor them for slippage.

Tech Tip - Trad - Friction slabs By Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Tea

Sending friction slabs — do more with less Do you wrinkle your nose at friction slabs like you would a steaming plate of brussels sprouts? Do you disdain these low-angle inclines as the playground of bumbling neophytes? Or does the thought of long runouts and meager holds leave you trembling like a child beset by nightmares? These tips will help you master slabby routes, which can be every bit as challenging and rewarding as the steepest pumpfests. Relax, damnit! Don‟t let panic take over when the jugs disappear and the next bolt seems a mile away. Stay focused, regulate your breathing, and don‟t let your doubting mind make the rock appear steeper than it actually is. Secured by a toprope, the second will often cruise a pitch which the leader — drenched in sweat and legs a-jiggle — has just barely scrapped up. Footwork is everything. Keep your center of gravity over your feet. Friction is your friend, and distributing the weight of your hips and shoulders over your sticky rubber will help your feet adhere to even the smallest dimple. Choose your footholds more deliberately than your handholds, scanning for the lowest-angle features, which are often found in shallow dishes or atop sloping bulges. Avoid the temptation to edge, even on small pimples — edging decreases the amount of shoe rubber in contact with the stone. Rather, point your foot straight into the rock, allowing your toes to bend upward as you smear with the entire ball of your foot. Your heels should drop slightly, which will relax your calves, increase your rock-toTechnique is everything — try to muscle your rubber ratio, and ward off the much-feared “Elvis way up a slab and leg.” Don‟t overreach. An upright posture with your head away from the rock allows you to scan for subtle flaws. On blanker slabs, your hands are used primarily for balance and, like your feet, can be smeared against the stone. If you find an actual handhold, focus on keeping your elbow close to your side and your chest out from the rock, so you can see your feet. Use holds that are at or below shoulder height. If a good hold tempts from above, keep

your composure and use intermediates until you reach it. This avoids the inefficient stretch maneuver, which can draw your upper body too close to the rock and cause your feet to skate. Similarly, avoid high-stepping, which can throw off your balance. Instead, take baby steps on intermediate holds to link together the good feet. Plan your fall. To minimize the risk of entangling yourself in the rope in a fall, always keep it on the side closest to your belayer, and never between your legs. If you do come off, push away from the rock to minimize the dreaded “cheese grater” effect (the rock abrading your skin when you slide down). Practice in safety. These techniques are best tested at the safety of your local boulders, not 80 feet out on some Tuolumne Meadows horror show. Find a low-angle slab with good footholds and practice climbing it sans hands, both up and down.

Tech Tip - Big Wall - Your first one-day By Dougald McDonald Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Smart speeding — the basics for dialing in your first one-day big wall Last summer I completed one of my all-time dream climbs: a one-day ascent of Half Dome‟s Regular Northwest Face (VI 5.8 C1). At 23 pitches, it was the longest single-day route of my life. Though the speed record on Half Dome is under two hours, our goal was simply to get up the thing in a day. We took around 14 hours, passing one party and delayed by another, and climbed from just before dawn to just before dusk, moving steadily throughout. Taken this way, a one-day Grade V or VI big wall is well within reach of many climbers. Below are some of the questions that dogged us before the climb and the answers we learned during that long, great day. What should we bring? We needed enough gear to get safely up the route (or down in case of retreat), but didn‟t want too much weight and clutter. On Half Dome we took one set of lightweight aiders, a single pair of ascenders rigged with simple foot slings (instead of aiders), a 7mm trail line for emergencies, rain jackets, and headlamps. To choose your rack, it‟s essential to get beta from other one-dayers, not from parties expecting to aid every move. For example, do you really need the three sets of cams necessary for full-blown aiding, or would one or two suffice? Should we haul? No. Hauling is exhausting and time consuming. Work out a system to carry everything on your back and harness. Even though this will lower your free-climbing level and be tough duty for the second early in the day (when the pack is filled with water), it‟s

Proper technique and strategy are keys to turning that Grade VI into a mere 12-hour climb.

essential to making good time. Should we aid, free climb, or both? All of the above. My partner and I both lead 5.11 gear routes, yet we didn‟t free climb many pitches harder than 5.8 on Half Dome. However, even at this standard, we only used aiders on a third of the pitches. Usually we got by with pulling on occasional pieces — the so-called French-free method. If you have to grab more than two or three pieces in a row, using aiders will be more efficient. Jug or follow? Most of the time jugging is faster. We only followed easy free climbing or traversing pitches on Half Dome. What about simul-climbing and short-fixing? Simul-climbing is when both climbers move together with gear between them; short-fixing is when the leader pulls up all the slack at the anchor, ties it off, and keeps going rope-solo while the second jugs. Both are essential for record-busting speed ascents, but we weren‟t after records. We studied the topo for each section and chose whichever method seemed best. We occasionally short-fixed when the next pitch started out with easy-to-solo aid. We also simul-climbed one easy passage in the middle, linking two pitches. Usually, though, it seemed best to focus on what we knew — leading and following — and to do it as efficiently as possible. How will we pass? Two words: opportunity and diplomacy. We got stuck behind a party of three, who stalled us for several pitches. When their leader chose to free a tricky chimney on pitch 12, we seized the chance to aid quickly up a neighboring corner. Friendly banter and a sense of “We‟re-all-in-thistogether” camaraderie really help. What techniques should we practice beforehand? Two come to mind, and they both involve the second: jugging and cleaning efficiently, and lowering out to follow traverses or pendulums. If both climbers have these thoroughly dialed, you‟ll save tons of time.

Tech Tip - Trad - Escape a belay for self rescue By Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Breaking free — escape a belay quickly and safely Your worst nightmare has just become a reality. Nearing the top of the funky 5.9 block climbing on the third pitch of the Naked Edge, your partner suddenly peels, taking a 20-footer onto a ledge, breaking her ankle. You don‟t have enough rope to lower her back to the belay, and darkness is approaching. What now? Your best option is self-rescue, the first step of which is escaping the belay. Arm yourself properly. Never leave the ground without one or two 15-foot long, six- or seven-millimeter cordelettes. This versatile cord can be used to equalize anchors or tie friction hitches, and is a crucial part of transferring a load for escaping the belay. Coil it as you would a small rope for ease of access. Mules, Prusiks, and Munters. Escaping the belay requires a few simple knots. Master these before you need them. Mule knot: This blocking slip knot can be used in conjunction with a Munter hitch or a belay device to tie off a weighted rope, allowing the belayer to free her hands. The knot can even be released under a load (knot A). Prusik hitch: This friction hitch is an excellent way to hold tension on a rope while transferring a load (knot B). Munter hitch: This versatile hitch is used for holding tension on a weighted rope. Given the possibility of losing your belay device, belaying with a Munter is a skill that

Puzzle it out — initiate a proper self-rescue by methodically escaping the belay.

every climber should master. The only drawback to this knot is that it twists the hell out of your rope (knot C). Block the belay. Make a habit of building a bombproof, multi-directional anchor that can hold both upward and downward pulls. If you utilize one cordelette for equalizing this anchor, you should retain a second for self-rescue purposes. When belaying with a device, you‟ll need to lock off the belay with your brake hand, pull a loop of brake strand through the locking carabiner securing your belay device to your harness, and tie a Mule knot on the loaded rope. If you‟re belaying with a Munter hitch, lock off the belay and tie a Mule knot just above the Munter on the weighted rope. Both types of Mule knots should be snugged up against the Munter or belay device and backed up with an overhand knot. Take a load off. With your hands now free, tie a figure-eight-on-a-bight in one end of your cordelette, leaving a bight large enough to accommodate a prusik leading to your weighted rope. Using a Munter-Mule backed up with an overhand, attach the tail of a prusik to a locking carabiner on your anchor. Release the Mule on the weighted rope, transferring the load onto the cordelette. Unclip your belay from the system, retie a Munter-Mule with the climbing rope to a locking carabiner on the anchor, and transfer the load from the cordelette back onto the rope. Free of the belay and with the system tied off, you can assist your injured climber by ascending the rope and/or going for help.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Lightning aversion By Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Lightning aversion — avoiding the big shock As you lead out from the belay on the last pitch of the Petit Grepon in Rocky Mountain National Park, you notice a menacing, inky black cloud clawing its way over the 13,500-foot summit. With no place to go but up, you silently curse yourself for not getting a proper alpine start to avoid the inevitable afternoon thunderheads. Lightning-related accidents kill approximately 200 people each year. Those who spend their time in high, exposed terrain are at a greater risk — especially climbers and mountaineers carrying metal gear. With a basic understanding of lightning-related dangers, you can become adept at managing this potentially deadly hazard. Start smart. Bone up on local knowledge about the weather patterns of your destination and take note of the time that cumulonimbus clouds (the dark, anvil-headed demons that sprout lightning) develop. Place your camp in a location that minimizes your exposure, and plan an itinerary that allows you to be through high-risk zones, such as peaks and high passes, early in the day. On your ascent, note possible escape routes, constantly watch for building weather, and set a turn-around time to ensure safe retreat. Sniff out the strike. Signs of imminent strike include a crackling noise in the air, a burning odor in the air, your hair standing on end, and metal objects emitting a bluish glow known as St. Elmo‟s Fire. If you see any of these signs or if the “flashto-crash” interval (the time between lightning and thunder) is 15 seconds or less — indicating a strike fewer than three miles away — A few simple steps can be your key to avoiding a ride on the lightning leave the area immediately. Seek safe terrain. Stay focused and brainstorm a plan for retreating or getting to a safe place on the route. Don‟t think twice about leaving gear behind for a bomber anchor and rapping to safety. Look for large ledges where you can unrope and ditch your climbing rack. When possible seek lower, protected terrain such as a talus field or an area of small trees amidst larger ones. Ground currents tend to follow the path of least resistance, so avoid wet, lichen-covered rock; drainages; standing directly under tall trees; water-filled cracks; shallow caves; and being connected to wet ropes and metal climbing gear.

Assume the position. If you are pinned down by a sudden storm, try first to get off of the route. If that isn‟t possible, seek out a ledge and squat or sit (but do not lie down) on some sort of insulative material such as a sleeping pad, rope, or pack (without metal framing), and keep your hands off the ground and apart from each other. This will decrease the chance of your body becoming a conductor and protect your vital organs from having an electrical current pass through them. When possible, spread out members of your party by at least 15 feet; if one person is struck, the others will have a chance to resuscitate him or her. Put on your rain gear to protect yourself from hypothermia and stay in the protective position until the flash-to-crash duration increases, indicating that the storm is retreating. Be ready for the worst. If someone is struck, the most significant danger is cardiopulmonary arrest. A victim‟s airway, breathing, and circulation should be assessed immediately. Know CPR and institute it if necessary, then get the victim to a medical facility ASAP for evaluation.

Tech Tip - Sport - Four limbs By Matt Samet Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Be like J.B. — recruit all four limbs for better climbing I was not climbing very well . . . I was always climbing on one foot and one hand at a time, with the other foot doing nothing to help the move.” — J.B. Tribout, Climbing No. 133. This quote from a 1992 interview with French rockstar J.B. Tribout marked a turning point in my climbing career. No longer was I content to muscle up routes, pulling with one arm while the opposite leg pushed. I began, instead, to focus on finesse, concentrating on bringing both of my feet and hands into simultaneous play. While my 8c tick list is still a bit shorter than J.B.‟s, I‟ve nevertheless made significant gains, and I‟m a much smarter climber for having heeded J.B.‟s advice. Kick the rock. Unfortunately, hard moves where you can distribute your weight evenly over both feet are few and far between (these are more commonly known as “rests”). If you‟re like most climbers, you usually initiate moves with a single foot (the active foot, which bears the bulk of your weight) without sparing a thought to the other foot (the passive foot). Neglect no longer! Instead of indiscriminately slopping your passive foot against any old smear or worse yet, wind-milling it into the ether (excepting a select few cases where this might actually be necessary), focus on recruiting the passive foot to push you up the rock. Because the passive foot doesn‟t bear as much weight as the active one, it‟s more likely to stick to small holds. Choose wisely and specifically. When climbing frontally (or “squared up”), don‟t hesitate to “outrigger” (splay and smear) the front of your passive foot in the absence of footholds or to bump the foot onto progressively higher jibs to extend your reach. In an “Egyptian,” or drop-knee situation, you can also shuffle your drop-kneed foot onto progressively higher ramps to extend your reach. To counter the “barn door” effect on off-balance moves, flag your passive foot behind the active foot, steadily pressing your toe or outside rand against the rock. Holds, holds everywhere! Intermediate holds needn‟t always be on a direct line with your target hold. Any hold within arm‟s reach is fair game, be it a sidepull, undercling, or downward pull. In fact, some moves actually require that you “drop down” to a low hold to generate momentum. Another common mistake

is to charge into the sequence above a strenuous clip without taking the time to reset both hands. After you clip, pause a moment to shake out, re-establish both hands on the rock, and readjust your grip, even if it means clamping down on an imaginary rugosity. Imitation is flattery. Next time you‟re out cragging, keep an eye on someone whose climbing style (not just raw strength) impresses you. Chances are they‟re using all four limbs. Strive to emulate that style, practicing on routes at least a number — not a letter — below your limit, and exaggerating your movements to build muscle memory. While this may initially feel forced, you should adapt over time, until such movement becomes intuitive and all four limbs are working in concert. French or not, you‟ll begin to flow effortlessly over the stone if you increase your body awareness.

Tech Tip - Aid - 2:1 Hauling Ratchet By Pete Zabrok Illustrations by Mike Clelland Big-wall climbing is just a different kind of suffering, and never do you suffer more than when hauling, especially during the first few days when your loads are heaviest. While “space hauling” (two climbers on the haul line at once) works, you must wait for your partner to reach the belay — inconvenient at best and impossible if you‟re soloing. But what to do? Three-to-one “Z” hauling is cumbersome overkill. Fortunately, there‟s a Better Way to show your monster pigs who‟s boss — the Hauling Ratchet, which yields an efficient 2:1 mechanical advantage. Soloists can rappel their haul line from a knot — rather than a toothed cam — and then later lift their weighted haul line into their hauling device. The system consists of two parts - the Lifting Assembly, and the Holding Ratchet. Start with a 15-foot hunk of 6 or 7mm static line — the Zed Cord. In one end tie a very small overhand loop, then feed the cord through your two pulleys and tie a big frickin‟ knot in the far end. You‟ll only need the full length of cord if you need to pass a knot on a multi-pitch haul; when you haul, you‟re using just the first few feet. Tie the shortest possible loop of 7mm cord through your upper pulley — you need this to create a necessary “degree of freedom” — and attach it and the end of the Zed Cord to your Lifting Assembly Locker. On the lower pulley, mount your inverted ascender on a dedicated locker — the locker stays, though you can use your ascender elsewhere. When constructing the Holding Ratchet, it‟s critical that your hauling device be lowered to the correct pre-measured position. You can use a dependable wired stopper but a four-inch wired Frost Draw (or use two for redundancy) works best. You want the teeth of the inverted ascender directly beneath the teeth of the hauling device The 2:1 Hauling Ratchet makes pig hauling a when the Zed Cord is pulled tight at the top of breeze. the stroke, and the two pulleys are touching. Lifting the haul bag is achieved by squatting. Adjust the clove hitch on your harness accordingly for proper extension on each squat.

To operate, there are two motions — lowering the inverted ascender as you stand, and raising the inverted ascender when you haul. From the squatting position, place your “strong hand” on the inverted ascender, and push down on it to lift yourself up with 2:1 advantage. Clever, eh? Make yourself a “pull-down handle” from a sling, and yank on it with your “weak hand” as you stand. To haul, switch your weak hand to the free end of the haul line coming out of the hauling device. Squat down hard to lift, and apply only as much pull to the haul line as you need to move it through the hauling device — any excess pull decreases your lifting force. If you need extra clearance for the pulleys to close tightly, pull the hauling device outwards and away from the pulleys in a well-timed “snapping” action as you pull the haul line through it. Really fat porkers might require you to turn upside-down (scary!) and push downward with your feet, or make your partner hop on the free end of the haul line for assisted 2:1 space hauling. Learning to operate your Hauling Ratchet is neither easy nor intuitive — the orientation of the components must be correct, the measurements precise, the tolerances tight, and the components static. Even an inch or two off, especially in the clove hitch on your harness, will greatly diminish efficiency. So before you take this to the wall, practice it first by hauling rocks at your local crag. I‟m not kidding! Get this thing sussed and it‟ll sing like a canary. Then you can bring all the beer you want on the wall, along with your solar-powered shower, coffee pot, microwave oven, and color TV.

Tech Tip - Training - Pilates your way to stronger deltoids By Melissa Griffith Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Look around the crag or climbing gym and you‟ll notice all the people with forward-rolling shoulders, like those of the hunch-backed gargoyles atop Paris‟ Cathedral of Notre Dame. Over-developed pectoral muscles and deltoids create this look in climbers. Gravity, compression, and improper postural alignment also cause people to hunch over as they age — 90 percent of my over-age-65 clients walk into my office with this less-than-optimal posture. As climbers, we tend to speed up this process by pulling, causing the pectoralis minor muscles to tip the shoulder blades forward, giving us the unhealthy posture of an older person. We also put our shoulders at risk with moves like the

Figure 1.

Gaston. To correct unhealthy posture and protect your shoulders from dislocation, try the following exercises.Lats have feelings, too. Climbing sets you up for kyphosis (or “hunch back” — Figure 1), so familiarize yourself with the muscles that facilitate pulling the shoulders down and back — the latissimus dorsi, or lats. Lats are large muscles that start under your armpits and wrap down your back on both sides, attaching to the lumbar fascia that supports the low back. The easiest way to engage the lats is to squeeze an object (paper or ball) between your arms and the back of your rib cage, or simply envision stretching your elbows toward your back pockets (Figure 2). Thus engaged, the lats draw the shoulders down and back, giving you a solid, confident, upright posture, instead of “hunched,” rolled-forward shoulders.

Figure 2.

Pilates push-ups. This exercise strengthens the “rotator

cuff,”

(supraspinatus,

the

group

infraspinatus,

of teres

four

muscles

minor,

Figure 3a. Figure 3b.

and

Figure 3c.

subscapularis) that form a cuff around the humerus

Figure 3d.

(upper arm bone) and hold it in the socket at your shoulder. The exercise also strengthens the abdominal muscles, and, unlike traditional push-ups, incorporates a spine and hamstring stretch. Start standing with your arms straight above your head, fingers to the sky (Figure 3a). Now, engage your abs and curl forward over an imaginary ball toward the ground, leading with your fingertips and the crown of your head (Figure 3b). When your fingertips touch the ground (Figure 3c — bend your knees if necessary), “walk” your hands away from your feet until you‟re in a push-up position (Figure 3d). Do three to five push-ups (or just hold the position), then walk your hands back to your toes, engage your abdominal muscles, and curl yourself back up to a standing position. Make sure your back stays broad throughout the exercise, and that your shoulder blades aren‟t protruding. Single-leg knee drops. This exercise also strengthens the rotator cuff, with the added benefit of an intense abdominal workout. Start in the classic push-up position, with your hands on the ground directly under your shoulders, arms straight, and back in a “plank” position with your legs straight out behind you, toes curled under on the ground. (I often use a mirror to selfmonitor, ensuring that my lower back doesn‟t sink toward the ground, my arms stay straight, and that my shoulder blades don‟t protrude.) Now, drop your left knee (Figure 4) toward the ground without moving your spine or hips. Bring the left knee back up, and drop the right knee. Alternating knees, repeat the exercise six to ten times with each

Figure 4.

leg. You can also drop both knees toward the ground together — a greater challenge for your abs due to the greater difficulty of keeping your spine and pelvis stable. For more information on Pilates, visit Griffith‟s website at www.fitlifepilates.com

Tech Tip - Ice - Stein Pulling By Sean Isaac Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Leverage your position! Stein Pulling utilizes opposing forces for ultra-solid placements Stein Pulls — tool placements where the pick and the head of your axe are set in opposition — are the coolest holds you‟ll encounter when dry tooling. By applying the physics of levers to ice tools, you can find Stein Pulls on almost any mixed climb. They are located under overlaps or roofs at the convergence of the vertical and horizontal surfaces, but any threedimensional feature in the rock can work as long as there is something for the top of the tool to brace against. In the case of an overlap, place the pick on a hold a few inches below the roof, then pull back on the grip so the head cams against the roof, wedging the axe in place. Stein Pulls are more stable than conventional placements because the tool is firmly wedged; this allows you to reach farther because you can pull out as well as down. Just be sure that the hold is solid enough to withstand the prying forces involved the mechanics are similar to that of a crowbar! Inverted Stein Pulls are achieved by re-grabbing the grip of the tool upside-down, thumb towards the pommel, and inserting the pick up into a hold, be it a crack or overlap. Pulling down on the grip cams the head firmly against the wall, creating a stable bar to match and monkey around on.

Stein Pulls in action and at rest.

If you‟re climbing leashless, Stein Pulls can create a variety of no hands rests. The most basic Stein Pull rest is the arm hook. Place your bent elbow around the grip, let go and shout, “Look Ma, no hands!” Hook your arm near the grip, not the middle, to maintain the levering force. Equally effective is the leg hook. Get a solid sideways Stein Pull on vertical or slightly overhanging terrain. Lock the tool off low, then hook your thigh, knee, or calf behind the lodged tool. With your other leg placed directly below the tool, taking most of the weight, your hooked leg will maintain your upright position, keeping you from tipping backwards. Drop both hands and shake out. Stein Pulls are abundant on roofs because the pick often slots into cracks or holes, orienting the shaft parallel to the ground like a chin-up bar. In this case, you can hook your leg over the shaft, taking the weight off your gripping hand. This acrobatic maneuver can be taken one step further; hook both legs over the shaft to hang up side down like a trapeze artist with arms dangling in the air. Another creative position is the sitting rest. Find a solid inverted Stein Pull on a vertical to 45-degree-overhanging wall. Throw a leg over the shaft and squirm your way around so you are sitting on the shaft facing out with one leg on either side. I leave it up to your own imagination on how to exit this “restful” position.

Tech Tips - Trad - Grateful head By Topher Donahue Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Keeping your wits, and body, intact. Why do I sometimes feel confident high above a row of tiny pieces, half a mile off the deck, and other times reach peak pucker factor with my shoe laces still threatening to tangle with my last bomber placement? Why do I get the shakes one day on toprope, and another day can stand quietly on a dime edge 10 feet above my last piece? After watching my abilities pendulum so wildly, I have found the following points help me consistently find my ideal wild-climb lead head. Dial your style. Perhaps the single most important ingredient in cultivating a solid lead head — and a great way to avoid disastrous encounters with gravity — is to be consistent with risk-taking. To be consistent, force yourself to place gear close to the ground, near your belayer, or any other time a fall could have ugly results, even if the climbing is easy. Then steel yourself to be bold when the fall is clean, the climbing hard, and the protection solid. If you regularly find yourself comfortable with minimal protection on a moderate climb, and then whimpering near good protection on a hard lead, you are dangerously out of tune with the actual risk you‟re taking. Sick and shaky on the sweet and secure? Then Decide how truly hard and dangerous a climb is — it’s time to shrink your noggin. then act accordingly. If you‟re finding a supposedly safe climb to be dangerous, you may be missing something, off route, or placing dubious gear where better pro could be found. If a dangerous pitch feels too scary for you, it probably is. Humble, honorable retreat is usually the best option. Take flight. Taking practice falls not only trains your mind to embrace going for it, it teaches your body how to respond to sudden flight. If I‟m feeling shaky after some time away from climbing, or after months without falling, I often take a few lobbers — in a safe place, with at least 50 feet of rope out to ensure a soft fall, and with backup protection up the wazoo.

Get down with down climbing. There are many places where a fall would be serious, so at your local crag, force yourself to down climb and rethink a section rather than just hanging on the nearest bolt or cam. Down climbing on lead at well-bolted sport crags is perfect for training your mind to be comfortable with climbing in and out of hard sequences. Most solid trad climbers can down climb up to about a number grade below their onsight limit, and many make down climbing part of their warmup routine. Recharge and fire. It‟s hard enough to do a difficult trad lead when you‟re highly motivated. If you‟re there because you feel you should do it, it‟s next on your list, you want to impress someone, or for any other reason besides the fact that you just want to, you‟re unlikely to perform at your best or safest. Oftentimes, just stepping down and waiting a few minutes is all it takes to find a healthy motive. I have given up leads to my partners while I recharge, and also taken over leads to give my partner time to rejuvenate. If you don‟t let pride get in the way, you‟ll be proud later.

Tech Tips - Aid - Froggy goes a juggin’ By Pete Zabrock Illustrated by Mike Clelland

You‟re back at the base of El Cap, ready to jug the ropes you fixed on the radically overhanging Tangerine Trip. Nothing to do but clip on your ascenders and start jugging. Ten minutes later, however, you‟ve ground to a halt not even 50 feet up. Your biceps are toast, but you‟ve still got over 300 feet to go! Your “Yosemite system” worked fine on low-angle rock, but it‟s debilitating on a free-hanging rope. Take a lesson from cavers — pale, anemic offspring of the underworld with nothing better to do than perfect jugging systems — and convert your rig to the Frog System. This highly efficient “sit-stand” method moves your lower ascender up the rope “automatically” as you climb.

Figure 1. The initial set-up for the Frog ascending system.

The first step is to take one of your ascenders (a Croll is best, but any ascender will suffice) and mount it as low as possible on your harness. Use the smallest locker you have (or even a quick link) to get the jug low — otherwise it won‟t work — and orient it so the ascender sits flat against your abdomen. You‟ll need to keep this ascender upright as you move up. Chest harnesses don‟t work well, so many cavers use a loop of shock cord round their necks. Keep this loop small — just big enough to squeeze your head through — so when you‟re standing on the ground you feel “hunched over” by the elastic. Pad the elastic with an old t-shirt and some duct tape. In a pinch, you can substitute a slightly shortened shoulder-length sling. Better still, get a Petzl C26 Torse chest harness (under $20) made specifically for the Frog System. It‟ll improve your efficiency substantially over the shock cord, and the adjustment buckle lets you crank it tight to “hunch” you on the vertical, then lets you back it off at belays.

Your upper ascender is attached to your harness by a daisy, with a foot loop tied from oneinch tubular webbing (Figure 1). To operate the system, turn the upper ascender away from your body, and put both hands on top (Figure 2). Put the rope between your toes, and separate your feet as you lift your legs. When you stand, the single foot loop squeezes the rope between your toes and pulls it through your lower ascender. Push down, not out, with your feet. At the top of each stroke, arch your back and thrust your hips to get a few extra inches. If you‟re touching the rock, use one foot in the loop, and the other against the wall. Using this method, an old fart like me can jug 200 free-hanging feet in under three minutes.

Figure 2. Assume the Frog position and prepare for takeoff.

Tech Tips - Alpine - Cold play By Jonathan Copp Illustrated by Mike Clelland

How to make digital toast It‟s a figure 8. Just tie the figure 8 and clip in to that biner,” you plead to your frozen fingers.

“Really

it‟s

not

that

hard.

Pleeeease ...” But despite your cajoling, your fingers are going about things like salted banana slugs. Be it ice, snow, or alpine rock climbing, there are times when your hands become too cold to function properly. Here are a few tips to help keep your digits warm in all conditions. Put‟em on the radiator. When the chill is setting in, access your body‟s radiators. Armpits are good but sometimes hard to reach. My favorite location for a quick hand warming is the back of my neck. Even while you‟re hanging by one hand, your neck is still accessible. When rock climbing in cold weather, slapping a hand on your neck can be much more helpful than

habitual

chalk-bag

groping

Figure 1. Toasty, dry digits are an integral part of a successful ascent.

or

furiously shaking out. Choose your apparel wisely. Glove management is a complex issue, even to those well versed in winter travel. Taking at least two pairs of gloves when climbing ice or snow will greatly increase the chances of having a warm, dry pair throughout a long route. Ideally one of the pairs has removable liners. When they are not being used, keep these liners inside your jacket, preferably under an insulating layer that will preheat the material and dry it if it has become damp (Figure 1).

Avoid vapor lock. Moisture freezes. The last thing you want to do is let your hands or gloves become wet. Even a bit of dampness inside a glove can quickly turn to frost. Warming your hands by blowing on them creates condensation — a bad situation if you‟re stuffing your hands right back into gloves. Sweating inside your gloves can cause the same problem, so keep your hands from becoming too hot as well as too cold. Perspiration is most often an issue on approaches or on lower angle slopes amid steeper terrain; wearing a thin glove or going bare handed if you begin to sweat helps battle moisture. Shake and bake. Chemical hand warmers, sold at ski and sporting goods stores, can be invaluable in frigid conditions. Shake them up, place them in your gloves, and enjoy a few hours of augmented warmth. Stay away from the reusable gel packs — they require too much maintenance to be practical in the mountains. Yo! Do the axe wrap. The axe wrap is a great defense against conduction in very cold conditions. On mountain routes, moderate terrain often necessitates that you grip the head of your ice axe for prolonged periods of time. The metal mass of the head and blade can quickly absorb copious amounts of heat from your hands, even through the warmest gloves. To limit this

Figure 2. A taped-on foam pad can insulate your hand from a frigid axe head

heat exchange, cut a four-inch square of closed-cell foam — a sleeping pad works well — and drape it over the top of your ice tool. Use athletic tape or duct tape to wrap and fix the foam in place (Figure 2). If cut and wrapped properly the foam will not obstruct the axe‟s normal functionality. Finally, proper clothing management, and staying hydrated and well fed will also maximize your circulation. Wiggle and flex those phalanges. Keep them happy, and don‟t let go.

Tech Tips - Sport - Gym dandy By Chris Wall Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Landing like a cat on indoor surfaces With their well-padded and obstruction-free environs, indoor bouldering gyms are supposed to be safer than outdoor rocks. Sprained ankles, back strains, and dislocated elbows show, however, that you may be lulled into a false sense of security in a gym. Much like climbing, landing is a learned skill. You‟re an athlete on the way up, and so should you be on the way down (Figure 1). Typically gyms offer one or more of four different landing surfaces, each with its own pluses and perils: • Pea gravel. Possibly the least likely to catch and roll your ankle, but can be abrasive to tumble through. • Shredded rubber. Not too rough on the

Figure 1. Don’t be a blundering blockhead when it comes to bailing.

ankles either, but prone to thin spots. • Wall-to-wall padding. Typically a top layer of high-density foam (1/2-1 inch thick) and several inches of soft open-cell foam. Firm and predictable, but watch out for the seams between sections, which can collapse underfoot. • Thick and soft pads. Usually soft open cell foam, chipped open cell foam, or used mattresses. Good for the back-flop on steep bouldering walls (from a reasonable height) but the extra “give” can work your ankles when you drop off feet first. Survey says ... Before you go trying to flash the Black & Blue Expert / 3 Spot / V-Whatever, suss out your landing area. From where are you most likely to dismount or fall? Check that the gravel or rubber is not thinned out, exposing you to a hard under-surface landing. Orient your

pad(s) appropriately and make sure that there is nothing between you and your landing. Be wary of landing on a seam or gap between pads. Tap into your inner cat. Most landings follow voluntary dismounts (from either the top or partway up the problem) and this is where most injuries occur. When jumping off, make sure to drop straight down. Hit the ground feet first, toes facing forward, with your knees bent. Disperse the shock of hitting the floor — rather than absorbing it completely with your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back — by collapsing like an accordion and rolling backwards onto your back (Figure 2). Bailing blunders. Except in cases where an obstacle looms immediately behind you (e.g. a wall, person, etc.) there is seldom a reason to remain on your feet.

Posting

your

arm

behind you can potentially dislocate

or

break

your

elbow, wrist, or shoulder. Also, take care when rolling forward, as whacking your head on your knees, the wall, or gravel will reduce your debonair appearance. Obviously, unexpected falls make a controlled landing

Figure 2. Hit the ground feet first, toes facing forward, with your knees bent. Disperse the shock of hitting the floor — rather than absorbing it completely with your ankles, knees, hips, and lower back — by collapsing like an accordion.

more difficult. Try out these landing basics at the beginning of your next training session so when a surprise fall hits, a good landing comes reflexively. Remember, ice belongs in your margarita, not on your ankle!

Tech Tips - Aid - Avoid the big ride By Mark Synnott Illustrated by Mike Clelland

The term “Expando” refers to any crack or flake that moves when pressured. These fissures can run the gamut from huge, creaky flakes to micro splitter cracks. On hard aid, carelessly nailing into expanding cracks might be the quickest way to send yourself for the big ride. When I‟m on a nail-up, I look at every crack

as

if

it‟s

potentially

expanding. When you nail a piton into a crack, you‟re exerting great pressure on the rock. Even if a crack appears splitter, you might actually be hanging on a huge exfoliated sheet of rock that can shift relative to the wall underneath. RPs and copperheads, used for the thinnest of thin, rely on precise surface contact. If that surface shifts even a fraction of a

Figure 1. Placing the pin with a slight upward angle can help keep it from rotating into a likely-to-blow downward orientation

millimeter, and you are weighting that piece, it will rip. Here are a few tips that may help you the next time you encounter an expanding crack. First of all, is the crack big enough to take TCUs? If so, you‟re lucky, because unlike pitons, nuts, and heads, camming devices can expand with the crack. If you flex the crack open while standing on a cam, the cam probably won‟t blow. Whenever possible, aid expando sections on cams. If the crack is too thin for TCUs, more sophisticated trickery is required. I like to smack in the biggest pin possible at the start of any expando section. This helps take out some of flake‟s expansion range and hopefully will also provide at least one piece of good protection.

Next, look at the crack and come up with a plan of attack. Are you going to nail it, nut it, copperhead it, or a combination of all three? Usually, if I start with pins, I like to stay with pins. I try not to overdrive or oversize, and I tilt the pins slightly upward (Figure 1), assuming that they will shift downwards a bit as the crack expands. Most importantly, I daisy in tight to the piece I‟m placing, just in case the one I‟m on pulls. If the piece I‟m on really looks like it‟s about to blow, I shift my weight onto the top piece and whale it in as hard and as far as I can (Figure 2). If you decide to go with copperheads and nuts, know that you‟ll probably have to stay with this type of placement for the duration. The single most important thing to avoid is nailing a pin above a thin nut or head, since this is sure to expand the crack enough to cause your lower placement to blow. Be careful, too, because even a head can expand a crack, especially if you‟re trying to slam in a #3 above a #1 or #2 head. Say you‟re on a dicey #2 copperhead in an expanding crack, and the next placement looks like it‟s going to have to be a piton. First, consider a cam hook. Provided the flake is not horribly loose, body weight on the cam hook shouldn‟t be enough to blow the piece you‟re on. Another option is to find a hook placement on the face.

Figure 2. If you’re looking to climb A3 or harder, be prepared to play the expando game.

Hooks are immune to expando because they‟re not placed in the crack. From a sound hook, you can whale in a pin without compromising the placement supporting your weight.

If you must drive a pin above a delicate expando placement, daisy in tight to the pin you‟re placing. Use free-climbing face holds, if possible, to help take some weight, and be ready to start swinging hard if the head suddenly blows.

Tech Tips - Trad - Rubber up By Rob Hales Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Rubber up — make your own crack gloves I had walked past Cock Crack for five years, each time imagining myself jamming up this overhanging

corner

at

Frog

Buttress,

Australia. Although not extremely difficult at 5.10c, it was at my limit and it was my nemesis. This day, however, was the day I would climb it: I‟d recently developed a rubber crack-climbing glove that worked extremely well on the many other splitters at Frog Buttress. Success! — I sent the crack, my gloves giving me the added measure of confidence and jamming power I needed. I‟ve since used the gloves for over 100 days of jamming, and they‟re still going strong. Totally tubular. You‟ll need to buy (or

Figure 1. A rubber crack glove can provide serious protection in cheese-grater slots.

recycle) an extra-wide (2.4-2.75 inch) mountain-bike tube if your hand is large; a standard 1.85-inch inner tube should do the job if your hand is medium to small. Now, measure and cut the length you require. A strip extending from just over your first knuckle to about 1.5 inches past your wrist works best. Nip and tuck.Trim the corners and make sure there are no nicks in the rubber, as they may cause tears. Taper the piece so that the index-finger side is slightly longer than your pinkyfinger side. Now, cut two finger holes, one for your index finger and one for your pinky finger, by folding the rubber over and cutting small semi-circles. Use small, sharp scissors, and trim the holes into perfect circles — any small cut or irregularity in the circle will eventually rip. You can make the gloves reversible by cutting two extra holes in the opposite side (the side toward your wrist) for use when the original holes blow out.

Cinch down. Tape the rubber strips to the back of your hands (having someone help improves the fit) by placing your fingers in the holes and wrapping the tape around the rubber on your wrist. Don‟t restrict the blood flow to your hands. Too-tight gloves also make it hard to grab face holds and can force your fingers to uncurl off even the biggest of jugs. The key to a good fit is

Figure 2. Size the rubber to run from 1.5 inches past your wrist to just beyond your knuckles

not to let the rubber get too loose near your pinky. Combat this by tilting the back of your hand slightly upwards while applying your tape — after taping, the rubber should stretch tightly over the back of your hand. Let it breathe. For maximum comfort, you can remove the gloves at belay stations or between climbs without undoing them from your wrists. Simply curl your fingers and stretch the glove so that the holes pull over your fingers. Because rubber neither breathes nor absorbs sweat, the gloves may feel slippery in extreme heat. Remedy this by

Figure 3. Secure the rubber with a few turns of tape around your wrist

lining the inside of the glove with thin strips of sport tape on the surface touching the back of your hand (the “business” area for hand-jamming). You can also stay dry by applying a bit of chalk on both sides of your hands before donning the gloves.

Tech Tips - Alpine - Grin and bear it By Joe Stock Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Grin and bear it — taking the peril out of whiteout navigation Only minutes below our high camp on Mount Baker‟s North Ridge we noticed the storm cloud racing straight toward us up

the

Coleman

Glacier.

Without stopping, my partner pulled his compass from the folds of his parka and was soon yelling directions to me through the whiteout — “Right! Right! Left! Right!” — as I broke a squiggly, vertigo-driven path. Within 30 minutes we were safely unshouldering our packs in camp. When visibility goes, confusion often arrives. Unless you have a Scottish Highlands sixth sense for

whiteout

navigation,

knowing basic compass work is

Figure 1. A simple bearing on a prominent landmark will help set your route before the clouds close in.

a necessity. Start by using a compass with an adjustable declination (the difference between true and magnetic north) and make sure you set the declination according to the manufacturer‟s instructions. Prior to heading out, pencil in your intended route on the best topographic map you can find for the area. Bear down. In a situation where you can still see your intended objective but a storm is brewing, take a bearing (direction) on your objective so you can still find it once you‟re inside

the whiteout. To do this, point your compass toward your destination (Figure 1) and rotate the housing until the needle is inside the orienting arrow. Now even when you can‟t see, you can keep traveling in the same direction by walking in the direction of the index line, keeping the needle inside the orienting arrow. Don‟t be blind. Knowing how to find a bearing from your map when your destination isn‟t visible is key to saving your butt. Let‟s say you‟re on a nunatak on Alaska‟s Bagley Icefield. You need to cross the ice stream to reach your desired peak, but a thick layer of fog is blanketing the glacier. You can see where you want to go on your map, so measure a bearing on the map and follow this bearing to your peak. Map-to-land navigation requires you to adjust for magnetic declination, which is fairly simple but beyond the scope of this tip. The Mountaineers‟ The Freedom of the Hills is an excellent reference. Don‟t just strike out on a beeline for a distant object. Improve your whiteout

navigation

plan

by

dividing your route into short sections. Link each leg to a physiographic “handrail,” such as a medial moraine or ridge, that can be found and followed even when visibility is poor. When your

final

destination

is

a

difficult-to-find location on a handrail, such as a hut on a glacier‟s edge, use the “aimingoff” technique (Figure 2). By setting your bearing five degrees Figure 2. When heading for a hard-to-find point, alter your bearing by five degees so you know which direction to turn.

to one side of the hut, you‟ll miss the hut — on purpose — but

you‟ll know a critical piece of information: which way to turn when you arrive at the edge of the glacier. And the most important compass tip of all? Practice, practice, practice. A compass is only as dependable as the user operating it.

Tech Tips - Sport - Hands down By Pete Ryan Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Hands down — teach a better belay It‟s a spectacular autumn day at Colorado‟s Penitente Canyon, the air crisp and clear, darkblue sky stretching to the horizon. Arriving in the canyon, you drop a rope down Mr. Breeze, a wellbolted 5.2 beginner route. The route is perfect for your buddy, Bubba, an athletic novice, and easy for you — an important consideration, as you‟ll be using it to teach Bubba how to belay. As you climb the friendly slab, you constantly remind Bubba not to release his brake hand. He doesn‟t seem to be getting it. At the top, you drop the rope and scramble down: There‟s no way you‟re leaning back on that belay. For 25 years I used and taught the classic “pinch”

Figure 1. Brake in the normal manner

method of belaying: hands on rope palms up and pinkies toward the belay device, draw in rope; slide the feeding hand up and pinch both ropes; and recover the brake hand to the starting position. For 25 years I experienced frighteningly poor early results, just like with Bubba. Last summer, while working for Mountain Adventure Seminars in Bear Valley, California, I taught several climbing courses with K.C. Baum of the American Mountain Guides Association Technical Committee. He recommended that I start teaching a more reliable, easier-to-master belay: the “hands-down” method. One demo and I was convinced — this is a better belay to teach, especially for toproping. The sequence is simple. Holding your brake hand palm-down with your thumb toward the belay device and your feeding hand in its traditional palm-up/pinky-toward manner, pull in rope in the usual, hands-in-unison fashion. At the end of each stroke, immediately pull your brake hand back down to the brake position (Figure 1). Now move your feeding hand from the

climber‟s side of the rope to the brake side, grasping the rope just beyond your brake hand, where it serves temporarily as a back-up brake (Figure 2). Next, slide your brake hand back up the rope (Figure 3). Return your feeding hand to the starting position, and repeat the sequence. Many students find it helpful to repeat the mantra: “Pull — brake — switch — slide.” There are several advantages to this technique: It employs an instinctive palm-down braking position; it makes it difficult for a belayer to pinch both ropes with the brake hand, a common mistake in the “pinch” method; it eliminates the problem of a belayer extending his brake hand beyond his feeding hand, forcing him to remove the brake hand

Figure 2. ...then move your feeding hand down to brake...

on the recovery (another very common mistake); and it keeps the brake hand in a good position for confident lowering. When taking in rope, students will sometimes make the mistake of pulling rope laterally from the belay device with their brake hands. This, of course, activates the device and causes a great deal of friction. To remedy this, instruct students to move their brake hand toward the toprope anchor, rather than to the side, when recovering rope, and remember that this system is indicated for toproping only. The hands-down method is all I use and teach anymore, and I‟m told it‟s gaining popularity with gyms and climbing schools. First-time climbers and grizzled mountain guides alike can benefit from this simpler, more foolproof belay.

Tech Tip - Aid - Neatness counts By Mike Clelland Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Neatness counts — building a tidy big-wall anchor A big-wall belay setup can quickly become an evil jumble of twisted runners, knotted ropes, and stuck biners. If you‟re not

diligent

about

organization, the dreaded clusterf**k

(CF)

will

strangle everything. It‟s

essential

that

everything in a big-wall anchor

be

redundant,

meaning that if any one thing

—

a

sling,

carabiner, etc. — breaks, the anchor is still sound. You‟ll have at least two people and a haul bag; the stresses are monstrous, so don‟t take any shortcuts. Also, you must have an organized work site. Consider the following as you set up your anchor: Where will your partner clip in after she jugs up? Where does the next pitch go? How are the ropes going to travel? How will you best get comfortable for the next few hours? Every anchor is different, but here I‟ve shown three bolts in a row as an example. Note that this setup also requires 24 free carabiners: 16 regular and eight locking. The first thing the leader should do is clip the big, pear-shaped locking carabiners (A) into the bolts — once they‟re locked, they stay locked. They‟re big because lots of other biners will get clipped into these, requiring plenty of room.

Clip the biners at the end of your daisies into the outside two of these big lockers (B). Now tie off the lead rope with a clove hitch, and clip that into the central big locker using a separate biner (C). Yell, “Off belay!” Next, clip a cordelette into the three big lockers to create the anchor‟s main “power point” (D). Use a locker to attach the lead rope here with a clove hitch (E); this is easy to untie after it‟s been weighted by your jugging partner (F). Back it up with a figure-8-on-a-bight (G), leaving yourself extra rope (H) to be re-rigged and low for hauling. Now yell, “Lead rope is fixed!” Build a secondary anchor — positioned higher than the power point — for the hauling/ratchet pulley (I). Prepare a place to anchor the haulbag (J) with a “docking cord” (a daisy chain or bit of rope attached to the haulbag) and a redundant clip-in point for the haul line (K). Make sure the end of the haul line is set up and ready to go (L) for leading the next pitch. The best investments you can make for CF management are rope bags, one each for the lead rope (M) and haul line (N). You can get along without them (unless you‟re soloing), but be prepared for tangles. If possible, place the first piece on the next pitch, and add this to the anchor (O). This gear adds redundancy and saves your partner a little hassle and time — she‟ll be able to quickly clip it (P) when starting the next lead.

Tech Tip - Trad - Rapping smart By David Schmidt Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Use this quick-and-dirty method to loosen a locked-down prusik hitch when rapping through space. Rapping smart — four quick ways to back yourself up You‟ve just nabbed an epic ascent of Otto‟s Route (5.8) on Independence Monument, near Grand Junction, Colorado. The exposed final pitch was heady, but now you‟re on the summit, marvelling at the red-rock landscape below. You settle in for a nap while the sun marches steadily west. Suddenly, it‟s late evening — you need to rap quickly, but can‟t afford to get sloppy. Follow these tips and you‟ll soon be swilling brewskis at the local Mexican-food joint, not stuck on some ledge for a long, miserable night. Prusik power. The prusik hitch provides a safety back-up: Should you lose control of your brake hand while rappelling, the prusik will pull tight, checking your fall. Set up a standard rappel. Now take a pre-tied, 24-inch loop of 5mm to 7mm perlon (use a triple fisherman‟s knot, and don‟t use Spectra webbing) and hitch the prusik loop around both ropes above your rap device. (Hold

Figure 1.

one end of the perlon loop against the ropes and wrap the other end around the ropes three times, passing it through the first end with each revolution.) Cinch and tidy the prusik, then clip it into a locking biner on your belay loop. As you rappel, keep one hand in braking mode and the other on the prusik to prevent it from cinching down (Figure 1).

Lighten up. If you lose braking control of the line and weight the prusik, you‟ll need to transfer your weight back onto your rap device to continue your descent. Grab the rope above the prusik and hoist yourself up, simultaneously yarding in the slack with your brake hand. Your weight is now back on your device, allowing you to loosen the prusik and continue rapping. On a free-hanging rappel, you won‟t be able to hoist up unless you can do a onearmed pull-up while gripping the ropes. Solve this dilemma by taking the free rope below your device and wrapping it around your foot two or three times as a makeshift foot loop, then standing up in it to loosen the prusik (Figure 2). Dont be lazy! If you encounter a Death Triangle (left), take a few extra minutes to rig a proper anchor Check yourself. It‟s easy to make mistakes when you‟re rushed, so be methodical with your safety checks. While clipped into the anchor, load your rap device, rig your prusik, and pull in the slack until you‟re flush with the anchor. Now weight your device to ensure that you‟ve loaded

Figure 2.

everything properly, and conduct another visual check: belay device loaded properly, prusik knot hitched correctly, biners locked, stopper knots tied in the ends of the rap lines, harness doubled back. Once you‟re 100percent confident, unclip from the anchor and rappel. The “American Death Triangle.” Always carry a few spare rap rings, extra webbing, and a knife. Should you encounter a sling-less anchor, or one rigged in the “American Death Triangle” — whereby the same piece of webbing is run, unequalized, through both bolts and the rap ring — cut off the old webbing and correct the situation with your spare gear. Slide a piece of webbing through one of the bolt hangers and the rap ring, tying it off with a water knot. Repeat this process for the other hanger (Figure 3). It‟s key that the angle between the legs of webbing is less than 40 degrees, as vector forces are dangerously magnified the greater this angle becomes. For added safety, rap rings should be doubled.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Don’t spit in the wind By Tony Jewell Illustrated by Mike Clelland

Don‟t spit in the wind — rappelling in gusty conditions You and your partner have just knocked off an ascent of the classic south face of Prusik Peak, in Washington‟s central Cascades, but now it‟s late, you‟re tired, you‟ve got four double-rope rappels to make down the north face ... and the wind is howling at gale force. As you toss the rope for the first rap, the air currents catch the strands and twist them into a thick, spaghetti-like mass. Untangling the ropes as you descend is going to be a miserable and time-consuming affair — a veritable nightmare. The solution, then? Don‟t throw them at all. Instead, connect one end of one rope to the rappel anchor with a figure-8-on-a-bight, tie a nice big stopper knot in the other end of that rope, then stack it into your pack (Figure 1). If you don‟t have a pack, cradle butterfly coils in a shoulder sling clipped to your harness or gear sling (Figure 2). Now tie the one end of

Figure 1. Keeping the cord stacked in your sack will prevent it from flying high in the sky.

the second rope to your harness and have your partner belay you on that strand while you rappel on the anchored rope stacked in your pack. You may feel that you don‟t need a belay, but this technique provides a reliable back-up and gets your second rope down without any throwing. As you rappel, feed the rope out of your pack or coil — though it can be a bit of a hassle, it sure beats getting your rope stuck in no-man‟s land.

Once at the next belay, anchor yourself, then clip both rope strands into the anchor to keep them from being blown out of your reach. At this point, your partner rigs the ropes in normal rappel fashion and raps down. When your partner is ready to rappel, keep the strands anchored, or, if there is not enough slack in the system, remove the rope ends from the anchor and grasp them firmly in your hands. Not only does this keep the wind from

whirling

your

ropes

into

the

stratosphere, it enables you to back up your partner‟s rappel (a “fireman‟s” belay). When both of you are safely at the belay anchor, be sure to re-anchor the ropes with a clove hitch until you‟re ready to pull them, so they don‟t get blown away. Then comes the most treacherous task: pulling the ropes, the most likely time they‟ll get stuck. Be patient and wait for a lull in the wind before pulling. I used to give the rope a quick, hard yank when I felt it about to slide through the anchor, but I‟ve stopped after twice having the rope knot itself at the anchor. Now I just hope the mountain gods are smiling on me as I let the weight of the rope pull the end through the anchor.

Figure 2. In the event you don’t have a pack, use a shoulder sling to cradle a flaked rope

Tech Tip - Sport - The support team By Arno Ilgner Illustrated by Mike Clelland

The support team — the right way to coax a leader The bolt is 10 feet below your buddy, who is palming sloping huecos on a muggy August day. He hesitates, his hands beginning

to

slide.

You,

the

well-

intentioned belayer, yell, “Come on! You can do it! Go for it!” Is

this

helpful?

Perhaps

not.

Your

comments are “sweet nothings,” devoid of real meaning and content. Worse, they can nudge the leader into a potentially risky situation and get him hurt. So, how do you best support your partner? The “pre-flight” rundown. Before a climb, the leader will begin psyching himself up for the effort. You can help by doing a “pre-flight” rundown to clear up

Being a good belayer involves more than just holding the rope

any points of concern. Do a buddy check, ensuring that the leader won‟t have sudden tie-in worries while climbing. Verbally and visually confirm that his (and your) harness is doubled back, and that his knot is tied correctly. Show the leader your belay device — threaded properly, with the locking biner locked. Finally, ask the leader how he usually clips — in one continuous motion, or in a series of short pulls? This will allow you to pay out slack effectively and let him know that you‟re ready to do so. Looking out for your leader. Keep an eye on the position of your leader‟s rope; make sure he doesn‟t get it behind his leg, which can turn a safe fall into an upside-down head-knocker. It helps to know the route as intimately as the leader, so chat about it on the deck prior to the

climb. Knowing beforehand where the hardest clips and moves are will allow you to respond with fast rope-handling. Clipping correctly is also critical. Make sure your leader doesn‟t back-clip (clipping backwards into the draw) or z-clip (pulling the rope from below the last draw, which can occur when bolts are closely spaced). Anxiety neurosis. You can also help reduce your leader‟s fear while he‟s climbing. Since you‟ve talked with him about the route, you‟ll know when he‟s maxing out, a time he‟ll most easily be distracted by negative self-talk or fear of falling. When he‟s in these situations, help him refocus his attention on the climbing. Don‟t yell, “Go for it!” Instead say, “Breathe, relax, and hold on loosely.” Doing so will help him regain his composure, allowing him to process himself through the chaos of the challenge, be it a slab or overhang. Do unto others. When you belay your partner you take on a lot of responsibility. This is not the time to gossip to other climbers about your latest send — give the leader your full attention. Holding a fall is difficult enough and needn‟t be made more dangerous by inattentive belaying. Climbers yapping on the ground can also distract the leader. Don‟t bother trying to quiet them down; instead focus on what you can control — coaching the leader and being attentive to his needs.

Tech Tip - Trad - Silent communication by Topher Donahue Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Figure 1. Short and simple — three sharp tugs can speak volumes when out of hearing range. Silent communication — rope commands when you‟re out of earshot Whaaaat?!” is the word most commonly spoken on multi-pitch climbs, where river noise, wind, acoustics, and helmets and stocking caps make it difficult, if not impossible, to use traditional verbal belay signals. If I had $100 for every time I‟ve watched a team wasting time or bungling things up by miscommunicating, I‟d own this magazine. Though some climbers use small, two-way radios, this isn‟t the best option if you‟re broke or going light. With a partner you know well, the best solution is a silent communication system. This method is probably safer than yelling in crowded areas like the Diamond of Longs Peak on a weekend, as it can prevent accidents such as your partner hearing a different leader shout “Off belay!” and taking you off mid-pitch. Use the following tips to help dial in your silent-communication skills. Let the rope talk. If you familiarize yourself with the patterns of rope movement, you can climb safely without ever saying a word. Notice how the rope moves during the different phases of a climb. It will move differently when the climber is leading, with irregular speed and periods of no movement that are unlike the rhythmic tugging of a belay. Three tugs to safety. Even the most experienced climbers should discuss the specifics before leaving the ground. Be consistent in the number — and timing — of tugs you use to communicate with each other. Use three sharp tugs for “Off belay,” and three more tugs for

“On belay.” Never confuse three tugs with the leader clipping a piece or struggling with a high step. If you‟re unsure, wait for the leader to try to pull up the extra rope, in which case she‟ll realize that the rope is still through the belay and will respond with three more tugs (figure 1). If both climbers are paying attention, signals for “Climbing” and “Climb on” are unnecessary, because pulling on the rope will reveal the second‟s movement. Figure 2. See-sawing the ropes, a basic form of non-verbal communication, ensures that the ropes will pull smoothly The other signals. “Slack” is hard to communicate, but is still possible with sensitive hands. A gentle pull usually means that the second is stepping down and needs slack: Feed the rope out slowly and be ready to catch a fall. A fall will often be obvious (a sharp tug on the rope), but may be masked by rope drag, so don‟t continually feed out rope if you‟re unsure. “Up rope” is best relayed with a single hard tug, while “Tension” or “Take” are nearly impossible to communicate. If you know you‟re not going to free climb the pitch, and a piece is close at hand, then just grab the bloody gear and avoid the issue altogether. It‟s better to aid your way back to the sleeping bags than to hangdog all afternoon and end up sleeping on a pint-sized ledge. While “Off rappel” seems easy to intuit because there‟s suddenly no weight on the rope, your partner could be standing on a ledge hunting for the next anchor. Once the first climber is off rappel he should pull the rope back and forth through the anchors, a couple of feet each way. This not only communicates “Off rappel,” but also ensures that the ropes won‟t hang up on the anchor (figure 2).

Tech Tip - Sport - S.L.E.D. for safety by Pete Ryan Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Bouldering

is

all

about

freedom of movement — use S.L.E.D. to keep it safe as well. S.L.E.D. for safety — smart bouldering for novices After a trip to the climbing gym, you‟re hooked. With brand

new

shoes

and

chalkbag, you venture out to the boulders, a confusing new world. Chalk, not tape, marks the holds, and the landings are made of earth, not foam. Excitedly, you launch up your first real problem. Ten feet up your head starts spinning. You‟re stuck, a jagged maw of rocks menaces below, and you swear you can hear an ambulance siren in the distance. Next time, use the “S.L.E.D.” (Spotter, Landing, Exposure, and Descent) acronym to choose boulder problems appropriate for your levels of experience, motivation, and boldness. Spotter. Nearly all climbing texts preach the use of spotters in bouldering. The presence of a friend or two to keep your head, neck, and back from striking the ground is both comforting and prudent. This is particularly true if the problem is high off the deck, requires gymnastic, compromising body positions (such as heel hooks, which expose your head and back to injury

in a fall), or has a marginal landing. Select your spotter using the same care with which you would choose a belayer. Although the spotter‟s job is not to “catch” you, she must be capable of breaking your fall. Think twice if your spotter fails to inspire confidence as a result of small stature, inexperience, or laziness. Landing. The “landing,” or ground beneath a boulder problem, is easy to evaluate. Is it flat and free of ankle-tweaking obstructions? Or is it a rock-strewn slope, without a good spotting stance? Poor landings can often be cleaned up with environmental respect (see the Sport Techtip, “Eco-padding — limit your bouldering impact,” No. 215), and crashpads or multiple spotters will also mitigate landing hazards. Exposure. Though exposure usually refers to height, a more complex definition incorporates landing, body position, and mindset. Your mindset is important, as exposure depends as much upon your perception of apparent risk as that of actual risk. For example, a 20-foot V0 cruiser with a good landing might not feel exposed, but a shorter, harder V3 with gymnastic moves and a rocky landing might feel dicey. Neophyte boulderers should err on the side of caution. One rule of thumb is to consider whether you would willingly jump off the top of a problem. If the top is too high for a jump, perhaps it is no longer a boulder problem, but rather a free solo. Once again, crashpads and spotters help minimize these hazards. Descent. Climbing an unfamiliar problem is invigorating, but it can also leave you stranded — an embarrassing and potentially dangerous predicament. Don‟t go up until you know how to get down. A stroll around the boulder will provide all the information you need. Remember to use the same caution descending a boulder as you did climbing it, and call in the spotters and crash pads if you need reinforcements.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Frazzle-free rappelling by Mark Synnott Illustrations by Mike Clelland

A v-threader eases the tedious task of setting up rappel stations. Frazzle-free rappelling — seven smart tricks for a swift, safe descent Perhaps my least favorite thing about climbing is the constant need to rappel. Hanging directly from the rope with no backup has always seemed like a great way to get into trouble. Every climber has an epic rappelling story, or two, or three, and I‟m no exception. My biggest snafu was in 1998, coming off of Cerro Torre. Getting greedy, we continuously went for big rappels when we should have made short ones to avoid snagging the rope. Through our rapping impatience, we added not just a few hours but a full day to the adventure. Zig-zag for safety. Make sure that each new station is to the side of your last anchor and protected should your rope pull down any loose rocks. Try to diagonal back and forth as you work your way down. In a pinch, you can stop directly below the previous station, but only if there is no loose rock above you or you‟re protected by an overhang. Cordon off the cord. If the face is loose, or has ledges with loose rocks on them, you will end up pulling down some rocks. Play it safe and stack the rope as you reel it in from the last

rappel. If rocks are falling near your rope, make sure to check it carefully each time for damage. Carry either athletic or duct tape for sheath repairs. If your rope suffers sheath trauma somewhere near the middle, it‟s better to patch than to cut your cord in half. Try to cover the spot with one tight wrap of tape. If there is any core damage, consider the rope shot and salvage what you can of it. Note that the taped section will be difficult to feed through your rappel device and probably won‟t work with an auto-blocking device. Clean and jerk. When you‟re pulling the rope, try to anticipate the rope‟s end as it begins sliding freely up and is about to pull through the anchor. Start pulling the rope quickly, speeding it up; just as it comes through the anchor, give it a strong outward jerk. Done correctly, this pulls the rope away from the wall and contributes to a clean, snag-free retrieval. Don’t feed the features. Avoid getting the rope snagged by carefully scoping for potential rope-eating flakes or boulders. If you see one, don‟t try to rap by it. Stop and rappel either off the flake itself or somewhere nearby, out of harm‟s way. In blocky, flakey terrain, like ridges and loose, low-angle alpine faces, play it safe and go short with one 200-foot rope. Stow your other rope in your pack or coil it around your neck. Biners make it cleaner. Rapping through webbing is inconvenient at best, very dangerous at worst. Use a carabiner at each anchor to speed set-up and reduce rope-pulling friction. Clip the rope through as you begin threading the rappel, then tape the gate completely shut. This prevents the rope from coming unclipped. Double up for more pleasure. Always carry two ropes. If you‟re really concerned about weight, go with a 6mm or 7mm static as your spare rap line. For an easier pull, rig the rappels so that you‟re always pulling the fat rope. Set up for success. If you know you‟ll be setting your own stations, consider carrying 100 or more feet of 6mm accessory cord in your pack. Look for slings around blocks whenever possible. A v-threader, normally used for ice, works well for pulling cord through rock threads, behind flakes, etc. (See No. 184, page 95, for more info.)

Tech Tip - Aid - Stormy horror by Mark Synnott Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Stormy horror — how to survive a night in Hell Climb enough big walls, and sooner or later you‟re going to spend a night in Hell. The most terrifying night of my life occurred while attempting a winter ascent of El Cap‟s Zenyatta Mondatta. Our double portaledge spent most of the night bucking and swaying wildly through the air — with us inside. By morning the rainfly was shredded, and my partner and I were lying in frigid pools of water. As with most big-wall epics, this one could have been avoided. Here are a few things you can do — that we learned the hard way — to see yourself safely through the storm. Rig for a rodeo. Anchor the bottom of your ledge to keep it from flying away from the wall in strong updrafts. This “lower” single-point suspension, which clips onto the underside of the bed‟s four corners, is essentially a mirror image of the ledge‟s standard single-point upper suspension. The crux is finding a suitable anchor point anywhere from four to seven feet directly below the middle of the bed. Any kind of protection will work, but remember that it will be subjected to a vicious upward pull from the wind. After the ledge is set up, rappel down and equalize all four points of the bed into the lower anchor using rope, webbing, and aiders. Make sure to snug the system extremely tight so the side of the ledge will lie flat and

firm against the wall. Put the pigs in the barn. If possible, hang the haul bags under the ledge. Clip a sling through the bottom straps of all the bags and fasten it to the same anchor that holds the ledge down. When the wind gets rowdy, this will keep the bags from flying up and smashing into you. Seal up the fly. The best way to keep the inside of the ledge dry is to use a bomber, seam-sealed expedition rainfly. Regardless of how impenetrable your fly looks at first, take the time before heading up on the wall to go over every seam with rubberized seam grip. Look for any places where webbing runs through the fly, like the anchor point. Coat the webbing thoroughly so that it won‟t absorb moisture. Bend a pole. Keep the fly from flapping in the maelstrom by bending a tent pole (which you should always use with your fly, storm or not) along the length of the bed, flush against the fly. This keeps the fly taut so that it won‟t whip about in the wind, and stops the damp material from drooping onto you in your already tight living quarters. Safe, sound, and dry. Most people like to anchor themselves with the rope, which must run out of the ledge to the anchor. Even if you leave a loop hanging down, water will eventually wick up the rope and into the ledge. Plus, you‟ll have to leave an opening for the rope — one that will quickly become an entry point for moisture. Better to clip straight into the power point on the inside of the fly with a double-length daisy chain. Batten down the hatches. Try to anticipate everything you‟re going to need and get it into your ledge before sealing up — you do not want to open the fly once the storm starts. If the wind is horrendous, it may be difficult to get the door closed again, and you risk damaging the zipper.

Tech Tip - Aid - Yosemite Secret Weapon by Cedar Wright Illustrations by Mike Clelland

The YSW will have you blazing up clean aid and clipping distant fixed gear with ease. The Yosemite Secret Weapon — putting the "speed" in speed climbing Climbing an El Cap Grade VI in a day, while now somewhat commonplace, is still one of the greatest physical and psychological challenges that a rock climber can face. Covering the monolith‟s thousands of feet of vertical terrain under the 24-hour mark is no small feat. As most accomplished speed climbers will tell you, technique is as valuable as strength and bravery when it comes to blitzing the Captain. Behold, the Yosemite Secret Weapon (YSW). Born from years of toil on the big walls of the Valley, this nifty gadget is guaranteed to have you flying up the thin seams, bolt ladders, and manky fixed sections that grace El Cap and other big walls. The YSW has been employed on many a Grade VI speed record, and is useful on any speed climb with continuous, uniform features. The elements of the YSW (you will need one on each aider) are a set of five finger-sized cams, a rivet hanger, a cam hook, and a narrow-profile, taped-open biner. Attach these items to your daisy chain and aider and they‟ll be

positioned

for

rapid

deployment,

eliminating the time-consuming process of switching commonly used pieces in and out. There are two ways to attach the YSW:

Connecting everything with either a large locking biner or a webbing loop on a water knot. The webbing-loop method is sleeker and more slender, but will wear out after just a couple of walls. The locking biner is more durable, and exchangeable. If your chosen route has loads of pin scars, clip a couple of offset cams to each weapon. If a specific pitch has stacks of 3/4-inch crack climbing, swap in a couple extra pieces of that size. One of the more cunning elements of the YSW is the taped-open biner. With this handy little piece, it‟s much easier to clip slightly out-of-reach fixed gear, especially on traverses. The taped-open biner is also a huge asset in easing the transition between aid and free climbing, an already tense moment that becomes scarier yet if you have to struggle to unclip your aider while hanging from a finger lock or tiny crimp. With the taped-open biner, you can flick or kick the aider out with a hand or foot, thus increasing the ease and speed of your transition. It should be noted that the taped-open biner is only good for body weight.

Tech Tip - Alpine - Sans dragonnes by Vince Anderson Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Sans dragonnes — free your mind and your wrists will follow While leashless mixed climbing may not be for everyone, it can greatly expand your freedom of movement by enabling you to climb faster and lighter on all kinds of routes. Another plus is added safety on well-protected, steep routes, where you can simply let go and fall, avoiding the risk of a dislocated shoulder you incur with leashes. Combine these new leashless weapons with some of the new-school crampons with? aggro? heel spurs (a subject of its own) and you open up a repertoire of moves never before possible with traditional ice climbing equipment. For those of you with an open mind, it may just blow a breath of fresh air into your climbing. Witness the evolution ... Shoulder thy burden. Your shoulder is a great place for a tool when placing and clipping pro, switching grips, holstering for short lower-offs or rappels, or just about any other time you need to free up a hand. Achieve this by hanging the pick right over your shoulder next to your neck. Avoid the dropsies. Sew a large patch of loop-side Velcro onto the shoulder of your climbing shirt or shell. Then glue the hook-side Velcro onto the upper shaft of your tools. When you shoulder them, they Figure 1. Velcro adds security for shoulder "holstering." will stay on, even in an inverted position (figure 1). Climb like a rock star. Start thinking of each tool placement as a potential hold for either hand. You‟ll open up many new options for hand and body positions. Sideways moves become much easier because your arms are never in the awkward criss-crossed position. This makes traverses much less complex,

with fewer overall placements (figure 2). Also, you can stave off a pump by switching hands on a single bomber tool, and alternating your grip positions to rest different parts of your hand by lifting your fingers in sequence from pinky to index to full grip. Stoke the choke. You can extend your reach by choking up on the tool that you‟re moving off of — every inch counts. Some leashless tools have a second grip further up the shaft to facilitate such moves. Experiment with just how far you can choke up on your axe before you start to pull it in an undesirable direction, e.g. your face. Lighten up. Since you‟re already shaving ounces by taking off your leashes, why stop there? Consider removing the hammer and adze attachments from your tools, which will make them feel super-light. If you already have a sweet swing, the tools will stick with even less effort. Chuck your holsters. Leashless tools won‟t fit into your old ice-axe holsters or through most gear loops. To stash tools securely for rock climbing and descents, clip them to your harness with a biner through the head, or hole (if there is one) on the pick.

Figure 2. The freedom provided by leashless climbing expands your range of movement.

Tech Tip - Sport - Open those hips by Carleen Inderieden Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Open those hips — stretch your way to better technique. You claim to include stretching in your daily training regimen and to have superb overall flexibility. While you do just fine on the steeps of Rifle, when you get on a technical vertical face (say Watt‟s Tots at Smith Rocks), you‟re forced to use drop-knees, outside rand smears, and uncomfortable hip twists just to lift your foot above your knee. The problem: You can‟t high step. Well, listen up, Jocko! Hip and leg flexibility are directly related to technique — when you improve one, you improve the other. Open and supple hips enable you to bring your center of mass (your lower torso and butt) closer to the wall during “balancey” moves, distributing your weight evenly over questionable footholds while expanding your movement repertoire. So stop crying, and start stretching.

Figure 1. If you can touch your knee to your nose, your name must be Gumby.

Alternate knee-to-stomach stretch. Lie down on your back with your hands at your sides and your feet stretched in front you, your legs aligned with your hip sockets. Bend one knee, then pull your thigh to your stomach. Your unbent leg should remain firmly planted on the floor, toes pointed toward the ceiling. Using both hands, draw your knee and thigh close to your upper body (by cupping your hands over your kneecap) until you feel the stretch in your upper hip joint and butt. Hold this pose for 10 to 15 seconds, then switch legs. Keep your lower back and neck pressed flat against the floor to ensure a thorough stretch. Do up to three sets, depending on how tight your legs feel (figure 1).

Kneeling hip-flexor stretch. One of the best ways to stretch the hips is to open the chest and lower stomach; the kneeling hip-flexor stretch does this without stressing your legs and lower back. Kneel on the floor and bring one leg in front of you with your knee bent and your thigh paralleling the ground. Keeping your back straight and stomach muscles tight, press your hips slowly and directly forward (focus on a point at eye level to assist with balance). Your hands should be placed on your hip bones to support your upper body as well as your lower back. Hold the pose for 15 to 20 seconds, then switch legs. This stretches the front of your thigh into the front of your hip and up into your lower stomach. To prevent over-stretching, limit yourself to three sets (figure 2).

Figure 2. Posture is everything. Improve your turn-out with this simple hip-flexor stretch.

Do the butterfly. This timeless stretch used by gymnasts and dancers is one of the most effective ways to stretch your hips and inner thighs. Sit on the floor and bring your feet toward the center of your body; the bottoms of your feet should touch directly in front of you. Depending on flexibility, you can move your heels closer to or farther from your crotch. Keep your back straight, stomach tight, and head and neck relaxed. Using your elbows, gently press the inside of your knees toward the floor. Hold the pose for 15 to 20 seconds and repeat no more than three times, depending on stiffness (figure 3).

Figure 3. Gently press your elbows against your knees to maximize the butterfly.

Tech Tips - Trad - Helmet kit by Pete Ryan Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Use your head — duct tape and first-aid essentials can prevent a minor cut or equipment blow-out from becoming a major epic Packing essentials into a helmet kit Climbers like to travel light and fast. A bit of food and water, light raingear, and a headlamp make up the average kit for a one-day rock climb. The first-aid supplies, however, are almost always left in the climbing pack at the base of the route, and even if you take a pack on a route it‟s a good idea for each climber to have a small stash of emergency supplies. This is especially true if one pack is shared by both climbers. The question, therefore, is where do you realistically stash the bare essentials? The increasing popularity of climbing helmets, a healthy trend in and of itself, offers a possible answer. The small space between a helmet‟s suspension and outer shell can often accommodate a bare-bones emergency kit. However, not all helmets offer this improvised “storage” space. Foam helmets while a good choice in many respects, generally have no vacant cavity. Suspension helmets, such as the Edelrid Ultralight or Petzl Ecrin, are better suited to carrying a helmet kit. A helmet kit can up your safety margin — as long as you stash it properly Regardless of what type of helmet you use, space will be limited. Hence, you should be very selective about the items in your helmet kit. Consider which small first-aid items are most

necessary, and hardest to improvise. A good starting kit should be composed of latex exam gloves, a few 4-x-4 sterile gauze pads, a small, flattened roll of half-inch tape, and some pain medication. Stow these items in a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag and include an empty Ziploc for litter and biohazards. Insert the kit between the suspension and the shell of your helmet. Don‟t overstuff the kit or include any items (e.g. hard or sharp objects like a knife or scissors) that might compromise the protective qualities of your helmet. Of course, your helmet kit need not be limited to first-aid supplies. You could just as easily carry a couple packets of energy gel, a topo for the tricky descent, a silk-weight balaclava, an emergency heat blanket, or whatever else safely fits. You can also attach a few 6-inch strips of duct tape to the outside of your helmet for emergency rigging/repairs or to back up your headlamp clip. While the helmet kit certainly isn‟t up to the challenge of a major accident, having a few necessities close at hand may buy you the time to get back down to your pack.

Tech Tips - Sport - Road Tripping by David Schmidt Illustrations by Mike Clelland While you‟re eating dry Ramen and sleeping in the back seat of your car, Joe Climber (above) is road tripping in style Pack and travel smart for maximum fun You‟ve been working your butt off for the last six months, storing up vacation time for just the right moment. Then it happens. The phone rings — it‟s your buddy calling from Lander, Wyoming, and he‟s one move away from sending Brown Trout (5.11c) at Sinks Canyon. He needs a partner ASAP, so off you go. Use these 10 tips and you‟ll hit the road quickly, efficiently, and in good style. Get organized. Store staple items such as canned foodstuffs, the stove, a few canisters of gas, and some baby wipes in a heavy-duty rubber bin. Fill another bin with fleece, raingear, a tent, and your sleeping bag. Use a third bin for food, silverware, and pots. Save your pennies. Leaving a route unsent due to inadequate funding sucks. Budget out $25 a day for travel within the United States and you‟ll have enough for gas, the occasional car repair, and food. Loft It. If you drive a truck, van, or a station wagon, it‟s easy to build a loft platform in the back of your ride. This provides free shelter for nights when you can‟t camp, and makes it easy to rack out during long drives. Build your loft so that you can store your bins underneath, keeping your vehicle organized. Visit AAA. Providers of Trip-tics (detailed driving directions), traveler‟s checks, maps, roadside assistance, and, um, bail bonds, the American Automobile Association is your friend. For $70 a year ($60 to renew) they‟ll hook you up, saving time and aggravation. Get golden. Fifty bucks buys you a Golden Eagle Pass, which admits you (and those in your vehicle) to all National Parks for one year. Road tunes. These are almost as important as your climbing shoes on a road trip. Keep your favorite CDs or MP3 player handy so you can rock out to Kenny G, Boy George, and Britney Spears as you

cruise through the barrens of Nebraska. Loud music has kept me from snoozing at the wheel more than once! Book smart. Many libraries provide free Internet access to the general public. Some require a library card; most require that you reserve a time slot in advance. Either way, this is a great way to access web-based e-mail accounts like Hotmail or Yahoo. Depending on the length of your trip, your local library can hook you up with books on tape, helping you sharpen your intellect as you tool down the highway. Shop smart. Many grocery stores offer discounts on select items if you sign up for a free savings card. Also, mega-stores like Sam‟s Club or Wal-Mart are inexpensive places to stock up on pre-packaged grub. Drivin’ stealth. Depending on your political, personal, and “recreational” interests, the back of your ride may boast a few stickers. The combination of out-of-state plates and messages like “Bad Cop, No Donut” often leads to unwanted scrutiny and/or a night in the clink. Better to be discrete and yank the stickers.

Tech Tips - Alpine - The future is now by Vince Anderson Illustrations by Mike Clelland Slimmed-down boots, bolted-on crampons, and welded-on mono point heelspurs are keys to the new mixed game. Footwork for the mixed realm The cat is out of the bag and the buzz is on about "new- school" iceand mixed-climbing techniques. Leashless tools can open up many doors and avenues previously unexplored, such as efficient crossovers and hassle free clips — now it‟s time to learn how to combine these weapons with bolt-on crampons to really cut loose on your next scratch-anddangle mixed affair. Bolt‟em on. Start by bolting your crampons directly to your boots. This will give you a lighter and more precise tool for effective footwork on technical rock sections. Also, it‟s a more secure method for attaching the crampon to the boot than a normal step-in system — very important when you‟re dangling from heel spurs. Ideally, your crampons should have horizontal rails and vertical frontpoints — a few manufacturers now make crampons with bolt-on mounting in mind. Begin by removing the adjustment bar, front bail, and rear clamp. Drill holes, if none are premade, in the rails. Now cut the rubber sole off your chosen footwear and align your crampons in the desired position on the midsole. Mark the bolt holes, drill‟em, then bolt on the crampons. Take a recess. For greater precision and less calf strain, when you bolt on your crampons recess your front point(s) a little more than you would for traditional ice climbing. This will put the point of contact closer to your big toe and the ball of your foot. However, be careful to leave enough of the point protruding for adequate ice penetration — about one inch should do it. Spur yourself on. Use a front point from another crampon and get it welded into an upside-down position on the rear cage, so that it actually points down when you‟re bat-hanging. You can now cop a heel hook on any edge that you would hook with an axe. You can also slam your heel into ice to get a “stick.” If an edge is too narrow for both the pick and heel spur, you can often hook the spur onto the bottom of your leashless ice tool — purists may scowl, but it is a cool and crafty move nonetheless. Note that it can be difficult to make

a long reach while in a high heel hook — if you have to make a big move, drop your heel and get back on your arms. Fly the flag. On overhanging terrain, scant holds can dictate fewer options for secure foot placement. Often, climbing with one foot on and the opposing leg flagging in the air for balance is the most efficient method, just as in sport climbing. This dynamic style of climbing is contradictory to the slower, more conservative methods used on traditional ice climbs. However, it will get you through powerful sections more quickly, conserving your tool-swinging strength should you reach some ice. Steady on, mate. Unlike climbing in rock shoes, it‟s hard to "feel" the hold on which you‟re standing: The slightest movement may cause your front point to skate off. To help keep your foot secure, maintain steady, even pressure on the hold and rotate your foot as little as possible.

Tech Tips - Trad - Evading the pump By Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Milking the no-hands rest Whether you‟re on the sharp end or riding the safety of a toprope, you‟ve probably experienced it. It stalks with puma-like stealth, then pounces and rips you from your stance. Known worldwide as "the pump" or "el fuego," it‟s the searing forearm throb

that

screams

"Take!"

Fortunately, for those us of without the grip strenth of chimpanzees, there

are

a

few

simple

body

positions that, when combined with savvy rock sense, can yield no-hands stances that stave off the evil pump. Before leading out, preview your pitch

and

note

features

with

promising rest potential. If you have a detailed topo, carefully examine it for corner systems, ledges, slabs, or any sort of stance. While climbing, scan as many moves ahead as you can. Move quickly but efficiently

Figure 1. While it won’t earn you any style points, the elusive buttscum does let you de-pump.

toward the no-hands rest, capitalizing on quick shakes en route. Most terrain offers the potential for no-hands rests if you develop a keen eye. Find topropes or boulders offering the following features, and then practice the corresponding techniques until they become second nature.

Chimneys. Ascending these elevator-shaft-like chasms requires minimal upper body strength. By placing one foot against a wall and using opposition to press your lower back and second foot against the other wall, you generally only use your arms to shim upward (usually when your feet swap walls and you must reset them higher). You can also employ this technique anywhere you find opposing features like weird stem boxes and corner systems. Dihedrals. When ascending these

features,

look

for

opportunities to lean into the crook, stem your feet out, and press with opposing force

on

exploiting

each

wall,

features

like

chicken heads and small edges. Be creative: Look for unconventional rests like hip, shoulder, or buttscums that free your hands for a shakeout (figure 1). Slabs. These low-angle

expanses

are

relatively hold free, so when you do encounter a positive edge or a dish big enough to afford a comfortable stance, trust your feet, lean slightly into the wall, drop your hands, and relax. Arêtes.

Figure 2. Gymnastic, but effective, the no-hands arête rest is a real crowd-pleaser.

Finding a no-hands rest on an arête is not an easy proposition —footholds are key. Search for an opportunity to highstep or heel hook one leg around the prow, taking care to weight this foot as much as possible. Now smear the other toe under you, on or near the arête. Use your high-stepped calf to hug the corner by leaning your torso away from it (figure 2). Vertical (or

slightly less than). Again, seek a solid, protruding foothold that you can rock over onto, "squatting" on your foot and sucking your upper body into the wall. Overhangs. Ah, yes, the coveted roof problem — the one that keeps spitting you off! Relax ... look for hanging protrusions (like spikes or flakes), huecos, and other features under which to latch a knee. Now, apply pressure between your knee and a well-placed foot to lock you in (figure 3). Though uncomfortable, can

steady

often kneebars your

body

through a dicey crux and take

weight

off

your

overtaxed digits. You can also find kneebars in wide cracks and flared corners.

Figure 3. Crafty knee-camming will let you take a load off.

Tech Tips - Aid - A game of inches by Mike Clelland Illustrations by Mike Clelland Top stepping is spooky but essential for maximizing reach. (Daisy chain and rope not shown for clarity.) Add height advantage to your aid climbing. It‟s the same scenario again and again in aid climbing: You‟re teetering in your top step, the tension of your daisy chain barely keeping you in balance. Just one more dicey move and you‟re outta the scary stuff. Yet that final nut, cam, or pin placement is just barely out of reach. Aid climbing has been called a "game of inches," but it often feels more like a game of millimeters. The smallest extra distance you can squeeze out of a move can be a huge advantage for reaching that next placement. Anything you can do to extend your reach will help. Think tall. Sometimes this means using your finger to push that cam just a bit higher, or linking the cables of two nuts together to extend your reach. Avoid easy placements at nose-level; do whatever you can to get that next piece of pro as far above your head as possible. Think short. Tie off your gear with short runners. Hooks, pin stacks, and rivet hangers should be tied with short lengths of 5/16-inch tie-off webbing. The loop only needs to be big enough for one carabiner. Clip high. When you clip into your piece with your daisy chain and aider, think about where the highest clip-in point is. Though pins and nuts don‟t provide many options, camming units do. U-stem cams should be clipped at the bend in the cable. For single-stem cams, tie a short loop of 5/16-

inch tie-off webbing into the stem‟s eye. Don‟t clip into the sewn runner, which is where you clip your rope. Remember, every inch counts! Stand proud. Getting into the second step, and torquing upward against your harness, can be awkward and scary (it often feels like the force is going to pull your pants off!). It only gets worse when you need to resort to that dreaded top step. Keep a carabiner (a bent-gate, key-lock carabiner helps avoid snagging) clipped into your belay loop or the first pocket of your daisy chain. Use this as your short clip-in point when you need to get more than waist high above your placement. A fifi hook also works great, especially an adjustable one rigged with 6mm cord, although looking down from your top step at the gateless fifi is a little freaky.

Tech Tip - Aid - Flying the flag By Brad Bond Illustrations by Mike Clelland

Flying the flag — how to haul an open portaledge. If you‟ve climbed a big wall, you‟ve endured countless hours crammed in a belay seat, feeding out rope at a snail‟s pace while your partner inches up sections of tenuous aid. Impatience sets in. Your back hunches further, and your knees go numb. You want your partner to finish the pitch just so you can get a move on and find a new patch of rock at which to stare. A six-hour hanging belay may be boring (OK, really boring), but it doesn‟t have to painful. With proper technique and a little caution, you can safely haul your portaledge while it‟s open. By not breaking down the portaledge — saving yourself time and effort — you‟ll be able to access it quickly, and kick back in style and comfort at any belay. If you don‟t haul an open ledge properly, however, it‟ll be torn to shreds by the wall or whipped wildly about by the wind. To rig your open portaledge for the haul, first clip one corner of the ledge into the haul line while the leader pulls it tight. Now, clip the risers into the haul line; doing so keeps them from twisting and tangling. Slide the portaledge up the line lengthwise, then clip the bottom corner of the ledge into the haulbag knot at the bottom of the haul line. Securing your ledge to the bottom of the haul line will ensure that a sudden updraft doesn‟t send it whirling out of control up the line. If you clip the corners lengthwise onto the haul line, the portaledge will rotate with the wind (like a flag on a pole), not entangle itself with every strap, rope, and climber nearby. You‟ll also gain peace of mind by rigging the ledge such that it‟s secured by three separate points when transferring it on and off the haul line. Use common sense when employing this “flag” technique. If you‟re climbing The Shield on El Cap, for instance, hauling the ledge open on the approach slabs will surely shred it; wait until the rock steepens above the Shield Roof and you‟ll be able to haul it open until the summit pitch. On my last trip up El Cap, via Iron Hawk, we borrowed a friend‟s double ledge and hauled it open for five days without giving it so much as a

scratch. If you and your partner are using single portaledges, break one down in the morning and keep the other open for belays. If you have three people and want to keep two ledges open, clip them together when you attach them to the haul line. Keeping two ledges open can turn into a cluster (especially with the risers), but it‟s worth the trouble if you‟re planning on a lengthy belay — you‟ll be free to tuck in and get cozy with your Grigri. By the time your partner makes it to the end of his pitch, you won‟t want to leave. Properly hauling your open portaledge will turn cramped insanity into comfortable bliss

Tech Tip - Trad - Discrete tension By Jeff Achey Illustrations by Mike Clelland Discrete tension — stealthy support for climbing beyond your limits Climbing, on good days, is about personal achievement. But it‟s also about camaraderie, your rapport with friends. If you‟re a habitual underachiever, as I am, you may be missing out on the gratifying esprit de corps of climbing. Tired of the campfire jokes cast in your direction when your pals send Welcome to the Big Girls‟ Club and you don‟t? Sick of being the weakling and the buffoon? Forget excuses. “Discrete tension,” aka DT, can earn you credit for routes significantly harder than you actually redpoint. Broadly speaking, DT is any technique that allows you to rest on the rope without your partner knowing it. At its simplest, DT requires only that you find a protection point situated above your tie-in — something readily available at most clipping stances. With the bolt clipped, firmly press a hip or thigh against the rope, pinning it against the rock. Then, simply sag onto the rope. Voila! — a near no-hands rest. Repeat as necessary. On smooth or very overhanging terrain, you‟ll only be able to support 50 to 70 percent of your body weight before the rope begins to slip. Use textured areas of rock and/or special rubberreinforced pants to increase friction. You can also supplement the thigh-pin maneuver with elbow pressure at the clip-in point (figure 1). A supple rope helps here. For the advanced practitioner, heel hooks and kneebars also provide prime DT opportunities (figure 2). To Figure 1. The ultimate in Jessery — the triple pin! avoid detection during DT, maintain an erect body position and make sure to act like you‟re fighting the pump while you rest. I find that yelling

“This feckin‟ booga-looga is going down!” or “I am the man, I am the man!” is an effective decoy. DT works especially well on trad routes; on crack climbs, place a chest-height cam, pin the rope inside the crack with a foot jam (be careful not to pull yourself off!), and sag. Re-rack, chalk up, or sermonize about the spiritual virtues of trad climbing to disguise your turpitude. It‟s possible, though trickier, to use DT when climbing above protection. Here‟s where the true con artist outstrips mere swindlers and charlatans. You‟ll need a good-sized, well-shaped handhold — say a chickenhead or flake. Drape your rope over the top of the hold at about head height, then pin it in place with your hand. Sag as in overhead-pro DT, maintaining firm pressure on your hand (figure 3). Finding the right hold is key; shape is as important as size. (Hint: Any hold you can wrap is ideal.) Discrete tension isn‟t for all situations. On thin and runout routes, it‟s almost impossible to use DT techniques. (The “Friends don‟t let friends climb slabs” slogan was actually coined by one DT guru.) Also, avoid DT when cameras are present — I know one climber who was publicly spanked by his girlfriend after an incriminating DT photo circulated on the Internet. And remember, DT is not free climbing. Use it in moderation to hoodwink your nay-saying friends, never to win sponsorship or falsely claim first ascents.

Figure 2. Augment that cushy kneebar with some stealthy DT, and bleed it back.

Figure 3. Make sure your DT hold of choice is solid, lest you face a monster whip

Tech Tip - Alpine - Making a point by Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Clelland Making a point — using and losing your ice axe. When you break it down, alpinism is all about swift improvisation in highstakes situations, making sound decisions while a blizzard of manure blasts the proverbial fan. That said, there may be no situation more dire than slipping in a whiteout and careening down an icy, 55-degree snow slope, possibly without your axe. However, remedying this dodgy situation may simply be a matter of foresight and practice. To rehearse the following maneuvers, seek out a steep snow slope with a safe runout (absolutely no obstacles and a broad, flat area in which to complete your slide). Leaving your crampons behind, begin launching yourself down the Figure 1. Always maintain two points of contact while slope. Even if you fancy yourself a ascending mountaineering legend or an aspiring Seven Summiteer, bone up on these techniques thoroughly and frequently until they become second nature. (Since crampons boast several lethal points, leaving them behind will make this drill a lot safer. Do, however, practice arresting as if you were wearing crampons by keeping your feet well up off the snow.). Stop before you start. On exposed terrain, maintain a heightened awareness level at all times, especially on the descent, when most mountaineering accidents unfold. Saunter like a cowboy with spurs and exaggerate the distance between each spiked boot to avoid catching a crampon on a gaiter. Always keep your axe in your uphill hand, maintain at least two points (feet and/or ice axe) of contact with the slope at all times, and move your axe only when you are in the balanced position (figure 1). Stalling a roll. If an unexpected fall sends you tumbling into the void, snap open into a rigid starfishtype position. Throwing open your limbs will stall the roll and stabilize you either on your stomach or back so you can self-arrest.

Sliding without sharps. If you‟ve lost your axe and are sliding on your back, roll over onto your stomach with your feet downhill. Overlap your fingers just under your chin and use your arms to dam the snow. At the same time, increase friction by digging your elbows and knees (not your feet, as they may be attached to crampons when the real situation hits) into the snow. Spreading your legs will also capture snow, so be sure to keep your feet up (figure 2). Sans spikes. If you tumble without your tool and are not shod in crampons, you can stop quickly by rolling from your back to your stomach and assuming the Downward Dog Figure 2. Sans axe? Dig in your elbows and knees, but no feet please. yoga posture, with your toes and palms of hands dug into the snow, and your waist elevated and bent at a 90-degree angle (figure 3).

Figure 3. If you’re without axe or crampons, make like a yogi and pose like a dog.

Tech Tip - Sport - Epic insurance by Ty Milford Illustrations by Mike Clelland How to safely retreat from a sport route? You‟re psyched to try The Gift (5.12d) at Red Rocks, but it‟s several letter grades beyond your previous hardest redpoint. You‟re unsure about pulling the crux moves, and you might have to bail before the anchors. The question, then, is how to retreat without leaving a pirate‟s bounty of climbing hardware. Follow these simple tips and you‟ll be back on terra firma, treasure trove safely in hand.

Bailing basics. The simplest trick is to carry two heavy-duty, 3/8-inch, steel oval screw-links (or two bail biners, which have the added advantage of being easier for subsequent parties to remove), which retail for about $2 at any hardware store. After you‟ve flailed so much that dental surgery seems more appealing than another whipper, fasten a screw-link to your highest bolt and lower. The key here, as always, is redundancy. Don‟t be cheap: Clip your rope into a second bail biner or screw-link one bolt down.

Kings of rap. This is a good way to bail, provided that you‟re no more than a third of your rope‟s length off the deck. (Note: This technique requires going off belay.) First, clip into your highest bolt (and Figure 1. Should’a trained harder — sometimes retreat is your best option. ideally the next bolt down, using a longer sling) with a sling girth-hitched through your waist belt and leg loops, then pass a tied or sewn shoulder sling through the hanger so that an equal portion hangs from both sides. Clip a knotted bight of the rope to your harness, untie from the

rope, then thread the tail through both loops of the sling until the tail reaches the ground. Pull up the belayer‟s side of the rope and, using a bowline or figure-8- with-follow-through, tie that tail to the side of the sling with the knot or stitching hanging out of the bolt hanger, ensuring that the rope isn‟t weighting the sling on either the knot or the stitching (figure 1). This prevents the sling from snagging in the bolt hanger and hanging up your rope! You — and your belayer — should ensure that both a tail and a loop of rope are on the deck. Now rappel (clip one strand of the rappel line to the next bolt down as a back-up). Retrieve your rope by pulling from the looped side, so that the tail slides freely through the sling. Now pull the strand tied to the sling to retrieve your rope and the sling from the hanger above. Retire the sling.

Lord of the rings. If the bolt at your high point has a smooth, ring-type hanger, as with a Fixe glue-in (don‟t do this with a regular hanger!), you can lower and leave the barest minimum of gear. (Note: It‟s essential that you stay on belay throughout this process.) Clip into the hanger with a locking biner on a sling girth-hitched through your harness. With another locker, clip a figure-eight-on-a-bight to your belay loop (figure 2). This keeps you from dropping the rope and backs you up through the bolts below. Untie from the rope, thread the tail through the bolt, and tie back in. Clean your quickdraws as you descend, leaving either a biner or screwlink one bolt down for insurance.

Figure 2. Do not use this technique with anything other than a ring bolt.

Tech Tip - Aid - The Alpine Butterfly By Pete Zabrok Illustrations by Mike Clelland The Alpine Butterfly — the Better Way to join free-hanging fixed ropes You‟ve just knocked off the first four pitches of Tangerine Trip, a popular A2+ trade route on El Cap‟s relentlessly overhanging southeast face. Nothin‟ left but to enjoy the 350-foot-plus freehanging rappel back to the talus. With any luck you‟ll be at Degnan‟s Deli before closing, then back at first light to jug your fixed lines and haul your stuff. Tomorrow you blast off! You tie your fixed ropes together with a standard Figure-of-8 knot and cruise down. You can almost

Figure 1. Detail of the Alpine Butterfly and Figure-of-8 knot combination.

taste the beer as the ground draws closer, but 200 feet off the deck, when it‟s time to pass your knot (perhaps the trickiest rope maneuver you‟ll ever perform), you realize that you‟ve created a monster! Not only is your knot needlessly tough to pass, it‟s also going to be a bugger to untie after you‟ve welded it by hauling up your pigs up the next morning. The “Better Way” would be a knot that is both easy to undo, and provides the convenience and safety of a separate point of attachment to clip into when passing the knot on free-hanging fixed ropes. What knot is that? It‟s the Alpine Butterfly Knot, the same one you use to attach the suspension-point locker atop your haul bag to your haul line. To join your fixed ropes using the Alpine Butterfly, first tie them together with a threaded Figure-of-8. Leave long enough tails so that you can secure the knot by threading the free ends back through the 8. Now take the whole assembly and put it in the middle of the Alpine Butterfly. (See page 138 of Climbing No. 176 for a step-by-step illustration.) The easiest way is to lay the joined ropes on a flat surface (like your partner‟s outstretched palms) and put two twists into them to form a “sideways eight.” The secured Figure-of-8 is on one side of the sideways eight, while the two free ends of the ropes are on the other side. Pass the secured 8 around the top of the free ends, then back underneath and up through the hole in the middle (figure 1). Voila! You have now joined your two fixed lines with a knot that is both easy to untie and safe, plus you‟ve left a clip-in loop in the middle of the knot with which to back yourself up as you pass your rap device across the knot (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Passing the knot (and untying it later) is a breeze with the Alpine Butterfly.

Tech Tip - Trad - Packless and proud By Jonathan Copp Illustrations by Mike Clelland The Prow in a day: You‟ve been dreaming about it all week, and now you stand atop Washington Column in the fading light, having pulled it off ... almost. Across the valley Half Dome is lit up vibrant red, but all you can think about is the infamous North Dome gully descent and the treacherous “death slabs” that await below. The concept of a crux mutates from ascent to descent. Before heading off entangled in a mess of knots, coils, and loosely dangling hardware, take a few steps to streamline for your journey. Whether climbing into and out of deep canyons or scaling alpine walls where the approach and descent are far apart, you‟ll face extended periods of time when you have to travel with your rope and rack Figure 1. The rack pack is an easy-to-arrange on your back. Furthermore, you might need to advent that makes descending safer. Snug it up! quickly access the gear and rope for rappels and anchor building. Just like racking for a route, there is an art to going packless.

The rack pack. Consolidating and keeping gear out of the way while using an over-the-shoulder single or double gear sling is simple. Take a spare carabiner and clip it to the forward-most racking loop of your harness. Now clip this carabiner to your gear sling in front of all the gear, thus holding the hardware to your side (figure 1). (You can further eradicate the “swinging- cam” phenomenon by clipping your cams in at the trigger bar, and not by their slings.) Repeat the process on the other side of your body for a double gear sling; in either case, you can add length with supplemental biners. The rack pack also holds your harness up like a pair of suspenders — especially useful when shoes and water are weighing it down.

The rope pack. For comfort and accessibility, the rope pack should always be put on after and over the rack pack. Start by butterfly-coiling the rope, then seat it on your back. The two ends of the rope should exit the coil (cinch it down!) at neck height. String the strands over your shoulders and under your armpits, then loop them around your back and the coiled rope until

both ends are in front of you again, at waist level. If there is too much loose rope in the system, run both ends around your body and the rope coil another time. Finally, making sure the whole system is snug, tie a square knot at your waist with the two ends. You‟re now locked and loaded (figure 2). Clip n‟ go. Carry a small, low-profile ditty bag that you can clip to your harness to provide easy access to your headlamp and food. Another simple detail that can save you a lot of grief is clipping your shoes to your harness with a locking carabiner. Due to the shape and stiffness of footwear, your shoes are Figure 2. Keep it neat and keep on truckin’ otherwise highly likely to come unclipped while grovelling up chimneys, sliding down slabs, or fighting through manzanita bushes.

Tech Tip - Alpine - For women By Majka Burhardt I can write my name in the snow. I can pee in a bottle. I can guarantee consistent size and extension in minus-20 degree Fahrenheit weather on Denali, and plus-20 temps on Cotopaxi in Mexico. I am a woman. I have used my pee funnel in Ecuadorian bus stations; made my Nepali cab driver look twice when I stood alongside my husband and funneled a yellow stream onto the roadside; and when a mule stepped on and broke my funnel in Bolivia, I epoxied it back together, ready to go. It‟s not just any pee funnel either — it‟s the Freshette, from Sani-Fem. The name alone is worth the $25 it costs to add the compact and lightweight baseball-size unit to your alpine kit, and it‟s the only funnel with an extendible nozzle, thus allowing you to pee standing up. Armed with the Freshette you can confidently scale any peak, try any ice line, bivy on any wall — all while peeing freely and feeling more inclined to stay hydrated. Recently, I was out ice climbing with another woman, and when we returned to the car she announced that she had drunk only a half a liter of water that day. The reason behind this poor decision? “I didn‟t wanna have to deal with my harness. It‟s just better not to pee.” This was the same woman who, hours before, was befuddled by the cramping in her forearms. Go figure.

Practice, practice, practice. This should be self-evident. The first time you bring your Freshette home, try it out while standing above the toilet or in the shower. (Fully extending the tube will eliminate any chance at leakage). It will take a few sessions to get used to peeing while standing up, but you‟ll soon want to do it all the time. Who says that guys get to have

all the fun?

Get fly. Just like the guys, you want to have pants with a fly. I find it best to only wear one layer sans opening, e.g. my base long underwear. Everything on top of that, be it my Schoeller pants, fleece ninja bibs, or Gore-Tex, should have a zipper fly. Hit the bottle. I have heard of, and in one case seen, women who can pee in a bottle with no outside assistance. Most women are not that fortunate. The solution? The Freshette, of course. With it, you can pee in anything from a large-mouth water bottle to a pop bottle. Just be sure to mark your pee bottle well — I cover mine in duct tape so that when I‟m searching for it in the dark, I won‟t mistake it for the Gatorade.

Carry and clean. The Freshette comes in its own plastic carrying case, which works great until the seams blow out and you have to reinforce them with duct tape. I‟ve also attached mine to my harness with accessory cord for long wall routes. As for cleaning, rinse the Freshette periodically with water, and soak in it in a bleach/water solution after a long trip. The Freshette — a woman‟s key to freedom in the alpine.

Tech Tip - Sport - Leave No Trace By David Schmidt Illustrations by Mike Clelland On a recent trip to Kentucky‟s Red River Gorge, I witnessed a gaggle of climbers swarming around two popular 5.9 warm-ups at the Military Wall. The cliff base was trashed: Branches had been torn from nearby trees, roots were exposed and trampled, and cigarette butts littered the soil. A dog tore through the underbrush — pausing sporadically to dig large holes — his master too busy chatting to take note. Though many of our favorite sport crags, like the Red, are getting hammered from overuse, the following suggestions will help you be part of the solution, not the problem.

Trickledown information. Before touching drill to stone, contact the landowner and get permission, ensuring that there are no concerns over access and parking. If access is suspect then you shouldn‟t be climbing there. If bolting is prohibited, don‟t tempt fate by establishing a new line.

Blockhead syndrome. Nothing provokes landholders more than crowded cliffs, overstuffed parking lots, and dirtbags who shortcut day-use fees. Ever arrive at a wall and find 10 people clustered around one or two routes? Instead of joining the herd, migrate to a different route — you‟ll have solitude and you‟ll help limit damage to the cragging environment. If a parking lot is full, head to a different wall; don‟t pull into non-spots and create problems. Also, regardless of your financial circumstances, remember that climbing isn‟t always free — ante up and honor all user fees.

Pack it out. If you bring something to a crag, then carry it out, even biodegradable items like banana peels. Remember, it‟s good karma to pick up others‟ garbage, so always carry a small trash sack with you. If there is an outhouse, use

it. Barring this, make sure you bury feces away from water drainages and trails, and burn or carry out your toilet paper. Agent Orange. Regardless of how inconvenient a tree may be, never destroy vegetation. If your rope runs through a bush, flip the cord; if there‟s a tree blocking the base of a route, have your belayer gently bend the branches back while you climb through.

Pooch patrol. Everybody loves Lassie, but nothing‟s more distracting than the fracas caused by scrapping dogs. Canines have a knack for digging, fighting, and leaving unsightly messes. Unless you‟re prepared to leash Fido and clean up after him, leave him at home. Squatter‟s rights. Don‟t camp near the crag, and never build fire rings or bonfires. These impacts are intensified with each subsequent visit — later parties are more likely to camp at an area with a fire ring, perceiving it as an “official” campsite.

Activism and stewardship. Join the Access Fund (www.accessfund.org) and support your local climbers‟ coalition. Listen to their ideas: Find out who the key players are in the land-management game and how to best donate your time. Landholders respond better to organized climbers who negotiate legally and unilaterally.